Sixteen Years
by XxFleurdelySxX
Summary: AU. 16 years after Through Time, we meet Rogue and Remy again. Their son and daughter now have a curious mix of their parents' powers... A mix Sinister might be seriously interested in...
1. Prologue

**Note****: I honestly thought it would take longer than that for ideas to come into my head. But there they are… Male or female? I had a lot of difficulty to choose, and I hope you'll like the fruit of my endeavors. This is only a prologue! I know it's long, but I guess it had to be. They are many flashbacks in the prologue to explain what's happening now, sixteen years after Through Time. Now it may take some time before any story plot comes to me (or it may not!), so please be patient if the next chapter doesn't come out in the next 24 hours…**

**Hugs and kisses to my loyal reviewers. I love my characters, but I'm really writing this for you.**

**Oh, by the way, they're mine.**

**Enjoy.**

_Sixteen Years_

_Prologue_

The wipers slowly went left and right on the big Sienna's windshield as Remy waited in front of the general store for Rogue to come out. His eyes went from the small dash clock to the glass doors of the building. Why was it taking so long?

~~

_He slowly went down the stairs and walked towards the living room. She was there, lying on the couch, a light hand gently stroking her still flat tummy. She had put her favorite movie in the VCR, but wasn't watching it and had her eyes closed. Did she know he was there? He stopped in the doorframe, silently watching her._

_She was only three months gone, but both of them were more than excited. Remy had gone into some kind of shopping craziness and had bought almost everything new parents could need. But he wasn't the only one: Jean was only a few weeks ahead of Rogue in her pregnancy and Scott had already decorated the baby's bedroom in nice shades of yellow and green._

_Remy smiled. He was doing a lot, too, having bought a small part of the park outside two months ago, and the nice fair-sized house was almost finished constructing. He was spending all his days there, working with the builders, and his hands were full of splints, his back hurt, his knees were scorched and most of his clothes were ruined, but he didn't care. Rogue had cried tears of joy for almost three days when he had announced the building of the house, and since then she always had a beautiful smile on her pretty face. The scorches were worth it._

_He slowly came out of the shadow of the doorframe and sat on the sofa, lifting her feet to put them on his knees. He gently began massaging her feet and ankles, and Rogue's eyes slowly came open while a small smile tugged at her lips. "Yah don't have to do that yet, sugah…They won't hurt until a few weeks yet."_

_"Maybe, but dis doesn't hurt either, does it?"_

_"No" she said, her smiled enlarging. She streched like a cat, lifting her arms above her head, and then relaxed into the soft cushions. "Besides, yah have to get the hang of it before Ah'm as big as a whale." He stopped his massage and grabbed her ankles with one large hand, and with a divilish grin, he ran his fingers down the sole of her foot. She started to giggle and vainly tried to jerk her feet away from his grip. "Stop it! Stop it Remy!! STOP IT, Ah said!" She pulled her feet sharply and kicked him on the soulder, but her heel slipped and hit his chin hard. He quickly let go of the other feet and cupped his hurt jaw with a startled exclamation, and Rogue suddently stopped struggling and put a hand on his shoulder. "My Gawd, are yah okay, sugah?" He simply let go a small "hun hun" and nodded, gently rubbing his jaw, and she sat back on her feet, sighing. "Told yah to stop." He simply glared at her with watery eyes, and she began to laugh helplessly. He lifted his eyes to the sky, but laughter was already shaking his shoulders._

~~

Damn the woman! He sighed angrily, his fingers tapping nervously on the steering wheel. The platter of the rain on the hood was unnerving, and he was already stressed. Was she trying to make him have a heart attack? They were already late, at least to his eyes. Not to hers, obviously. He leaned his elbow on the armrest and rest his chin on his knukles, the cold metal of his ring brushing against his skin. Why was buying a coffee taking so long!

~~

_He layed in the bed, watching the dark ceiling. He slowly flexed his fingers, hoping the tingling sense would dissapear. For months he had tried to control it, but it seemed it was only getting worse. Many times a day, he had to let go of anything he was holding before it exploded. After his most cherished motorcycle, he had blown off the remote control, the cat's food bowl and a flower pot, bringing on his head Ororo's rage (and rain). He had bought back the stuff he's blown, but he was getting frustrated by the moment with his incapacity to control the boiling inside._

_He took a deep breath, and the tingling slowly dissapear, only leaving a light pain in his shoulders. It was getting stronger, it seemed, and the tingling was coming more and more often in the last few weeks. He reassured himself, it could only be good. Maybe before long his powers would be back and under control. Maybe._

_The bathroom door slowly opened and Rogue entered the room, a strange look on her face. She reached a shaking hand to lean on the chest of drawers, and Remy was on his feet in no time._

_"What's wrong? Are'y okay?"_

_"No… Remy, Ah… Ah'm bleeding."_

~~

"Come on, Rogue!" he hissed between his teeth.

"She's only been out for a minute and a half, uncle Remy. Give her time…"

He turned back his head to meet the owner of the young feminine voice that had just said that, and he managed a small smile. Lydia gave it back, her deep blue eyes enlighted with the smile.

"I know, Lee, but I don'want t'be late."

"The speed you're driving on the highway, I doubt we'll ever make it there alive!" said another voice. This time Remy frowned, and his eyes reached to the back on the minivan to meet devilish green eyes over a wide grin.

~~

_He sat in Henry's study, next to the lab where the Beast was with Rogue. He had been pacing back and forth for the last hour but, tired, had finally sat down in an armchair and put his head in his hands, tears filling his eyes._

_"Please, don't let me loose both of them!"_

_"Three of them" said a male voice from the door. Remy snapped his head up to meet Henry's eyes._

_"Quoi?"_

_"Rogue is going to be okay, Remy. She's sleeping right now. And I said three, because she's going to have twins." Remy brows went up and his mouth hanged open for a few seconds. Then he smiled._

_"Everythin's okay? Twins?"_

_"She needs rest. Light bleeding doesn't occur for every woman, but it isn't anormal and  doesn't automaticaly means she's going to loose the child. In her case, it's more some kind of warning that she needs some rest. She should keep bed more often. Can I count on you to put her, and keep her between the blankets for a few days?" Remy nodded slowly. Keep Rogue in a bed? It wouldn't be easy._

_"Twins?" he simply repeated. Henry smiled._

_"There are two foetuses, and two placentas, wich means they aren't identical twins. They could both be girls, or boys, and they could also be one of each, I can't tell before another three months. And they are fine. It was only a false alarm."_

~~

Remy made no comment and turned back to watch the general store, trying to hide the small smile on his lips. He heard a chuckle coming from the back of the minivan, and repressed his own laughter. With three teenages in a car, he had to keep autority and control, or else he would turn crazy before Rogue returned.

~~

_"Very good, Gambit! You're actually getting the hang of it!" said the intercom._

_Remy made a face at the thought that he was getting "the hang of" powers he had had for years, but the fact was there. He stood in the Danger room, a carton figure slowly turning to ashes in front of him. His powers had almost fully returned, and he had begun his training a few days ago. Scott was in the control booth, bellowing instructions and, surprisingly, a lot of encouraging._

_"Try again."_

_"I'm tired, Scott, we've been doing dis all afternoon…"_

_"Try again, Gambit."_

_"I'm tired, Cykes!" he snapped, looking angrily towards the control booth. Scott glared at him, at least he seemed to do so behind his glasses._

_"I said, try again. The training's not over, Gambit. Not until I say so." Remy stared at the booth for a few moments, and his mouth opened in surprise when the wall began to glow red. Scott's brows shut up and he quickly opened the door, running out of the control booth and into the Danger room. He and Remy leaped to the ground when the booth exploded, and Remy landed hard on his stomach. Short of breath, he managed to raise himself on his elbows, to see that Scott's eyes were closed and that he was groping for his glasses. Remy reached for them and, putting them into Scott's grateful hand, asked: "Still want to try again, Cykes?"_

_"What the hell was that, Gambit?"_

_"Well it looks a lot like the powers I had when Sinister entered my mind." He shivered at the thought and got on his feet, and reached down to help Scott stand up. "Sorry I almost killed'y."_

_"Bah, I don't begrudge." Remy really laughed at that, and Scott just looked at him with questionning eyes._

_"What? What's funny?" He wiped some tears from his eyes._

_"He he, well…"_

_"Remy? What happened here?" Both men turned their heads to meet their wife's glares on them._

_"Ahem, well, I had a small control problem."_

_"And yah blew the whole place off?" Rogue raised one brow, and Remy shrugged, tilting his head to the side._

_"Kinda. Why you came here for?" Jean suddently beamed behind her, and a large grin appeared on Rogue's face._

_"We have the results!" Both men smiled back._

_"Scott, it's a little girl" Jean said, a quiver in her voice and tears in her eyes. Scott had no special expectations, but Jean had badly hoped for a girl._

_"And we're having one of each! A boy and a girl!" Rogue threw her arms around Remy's neck and he gently hugged her, careful not to squeeze to tight his wife's round five month gone tummy. "Thank Gawd Ah'm having only one boy! Ah kept having nightmares about two mini Remys running around in the mansion like crazy, blowing everything off!" He laughed again and lifted her from the ground, and she pulled back her head to look him in the eyes._

_"And I was dreamin' about mini Rogues, blocking the way to every single bathroom in the house…"_

~~

Listenning to the gentle chatting of the kids in the back, Remy sighed with relief when Rogue finaly came out of the store, two styrofoams coffee cups in her hands, and ran up to the minivan. He streched to the passenger side to open the door for her, and she sat on the leather seat with a sigh.

~~

_He looked at the small bundle in his arms, and blinked several times to keep the tears from running down his cheeks. There he was! His son. He was incredible tiny, as twins usualy were in comparison to other babies, and the little body fit in the two palms of his hands. Next to where he was sitting was Rogue's bed, where she was lying, crying with joy, as she held in her arms the second baby, a tiny girl with a brown fuzz on her round head. Then their eyes met and he couldn't keep the tears away anymore. He reached out an arm and squeezed them all, holding his family in his arms._

~~

"Gawd it's raining cats and dawgs outside!" He looked at her with a smile. She had turned forty a month before, and he had to say she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Her face had lost it's last girly traits and she had grown into a mature woman. The constant training had helped her keep a fit body though, and she still had her twentie's young woman body. She had cut her hair to her shoulders some years ago, but it was now tied up at the back of her head, and wild curls were beginning to get loose. She kept complaining about her age, but she hadn't any grey hair, with the exception of the white streak on the top of her head. She wiped her face with her sleeve and met his eyes, and smiled. He smiled back, and turned on the engine.

"It's a curse on the LeBeau's family. Whenever we're on vacation, it rains."

"Ah just hope the plane lands fine." He braked and looked at her, a frown on his face.

"You think dere could be trouble?"

"No! No, Ah was just saying… Ah, don't worry, sugah, Ah'm sure everything is fine. It's only rain."

~~

_"PAPA!" Remy sighed and turned his gaze from the TV to look at the group of kids in the doorway._

_"What is it, Louis?"_

_"Matthew stole my firefighter truck!" A small six years old boy was standing next to the couch, hands balled into small fists on his side. Angry green eyes filled with tears were looking from his father to the other boy, this one five years old, standing in the doorframe. Remy switched his look to the other boy, and deep blue eyes grew huge with surprise._

_"Hey it wasn't me, uncle Remy! I swear, it's __Lydia__ who told me to steal it!"_

_"Matt, y'give Louis back his truck. And it's no fair to accuse someone else for thing you've done. Now out, both of ya."_

_Louis grinned at his victory, and Matthew's eyes went to the ground. "Yes, uncle Remy. Sorry, Louis."_

_Remy looked at the two little boys heading out of the living room, and sighed. Lydia and Matthew, Jean and Scott's children, were getting along with Louis and Josée, and the four of them were being raised together, despite the fact that the LeBeau's were living at the far end of the mansion grounds. And the four kids were giving their parents hard time._

_He smiled. Hard, but happy time._

~~

The Sienna came to a stop in a parking lot, and the five of them got out of the minivan, running towards the airport main entrance. Lydia was walking on Rogue's side and Remy had to turn back many times to order Matthew and Louis to calm down. The teens were over-excited and acted like kids. Remy smiled ironicaly. He was over-excited himself, but at least he wasn't poking Rogue in the ribs until she yelled at him, like the boys were doing. He looked at the arrival table, his heart squeezing. He couldn't wait anymore!

~~__

_"Papa? I got picked for the exchange program." He closed his eyes. He had been dreading the moment when she would say that. He stood in the kitchen, looking at the small steaming cauldron in front of him, but he had stopped stirring the sauce and his hands were flat on the counter._

_"Are y'sure ye wanna do dat, chérie?" She came behind him and wrapped her arms around her father's waist, putting her cheek on the broad back._

_"You know I do, papa."_

_He turned around and put his arms around her shoulders, and looked down at her with a sigh. "As you wish, chérie. Do y'know were y'goin?"_

_"In Québec" she said proudly, trying to surprise him. She did, and he actualy smiled, and a small laugh escaped form his lips._

_"Québec! You're gonna learn French!" She poked him in the chest._

_"Je connais déjà le français, papa*. __I'm just gonna practice it, and learn new things, and…" She put her head down to hide the tears coming into her eyes. And be away from all she's known her whole life, and be away from her brother, her cousins, her mother, her father…Remy put his hands on his daughter's cheek, cupping her face, and plunged his formidable red eyes into her watering green ones._

_"Tout ira très bien, j'en suis sûr**. __This going t'be a great experience fo'you. When are you leaving?"_

_"In two weeks. And I'm leaving for ten months." A lump came in his throath. Ten months? His hands left her face and he gathered her in his arms._

~~

A girl made her way through the other passengers, looking all around her. Where were they? Maybe they were late. "Not with daddy driving" she thought with a smile. She caught a flash of white and recognized her mother, chatting with a young woman sitting next to her. Remy was behind, admonishing Matthew and Louis, gesticulating, as Lydia watched with a smile on her lips. Josée's eyes filled with tears as she saw her father's long slender hands moving in the air, and she began walking towards her family.

Remy was the first to see her. His spatial awareness had grown spectacular with the years, and he caught her movement almost instantly. He turned his head towards her, and smiled. She ran to him, oblivious to the others around her, and felt her father's arms wrap around her and squeeze tight.

She was home.

**To be continued!**

* I already know French, dad.

** Everything's going to be alright, I'm sure.


	2. Link

**Note**** : Okay. The deal is that Sixteen Years happens sixteen years after Through Time. Stuff happened, though, between the two stories, so that means there are going to be some flashbacks in some chapters, and they won't be in chronological order, I will only add them for the general undertsnading of the story. Also, Josée just came back from her ten months exchange program in Québec (I just HAD to bring it in my stories), and some important stuff happened there, so there will be other flashbacks about that too… Although I think the two "pasts" are easy to tell from each other, I will add something like "a few months before" or "five years before that day", or something of the sort to help you. I'm guessing the story will be stlightly different (in style, I mean) than Through Time, but I sincerely hope you're going to like it as much as the previous.**

**No disclaimer, I noticed there are more of my characters than Marvel's in this… So they're all mine. So be it.**

**The Highwaywoman**** : If you found the prologue exciting, you're going to like the other chapters!!! Glad you like the cajun, though. Otherwise you'd hate my fictions…**

**T. ****and Tammy : Thanks, here's the "more" you've been waiting for!**

**Mere**** : The characters will flow more in the following chapters… and I'm a afraid it will get a bit complicated, with the flashbacks and stuff… Oh well. I'm the writer, am I?**

**ishandahalf**** : Fiew! You like it! Who needs a plot indeed! I could go on and write endless and pointless fluffy stuff about Remy and Rogue, and I'm pretty sure you'd like it, but it _would be nice to have a story, wouldn't it? About the sixteen years already passed, well, I just couldn't wait for the kids to grow up. But I won't let the past in the dark, and there will be a lot of flashbacks in this._**

**crazytook**** : You want to learn French? Really? Wow, that's nice to know, and not unimportant at all, at least not in my eyes… and ask me if you have any questions about it! Oh, and what books are you reading that had been traducting from French? I've done the same thing, and I always prefer the English version of books (and movies) to the French traduction. Another thing : I always appreciate reviews, but my handicap being my first language (wich is not English), there are sometimes some words I can't understand, and that don't seem to exist in French English dictionnaries. What is "sappy"? *blush blush blush* I hate it when I have to ask something like that… **

**Cara Mia**** : Always nice to see someone who has a bit of French knowledge, let alone talk it, on fanfiction.net. Howdee! Here's another chapter, but the inspiration is taking long to come to me this time…**

**Becki**** : Sure. Josée is pronounced "Jo-sey" (not Ho-sey, please!), and Louis "Lou-ee" (we don't pronounce the "s" in French as (I think) you do in English). There will be lots of French names in this story (Josée _did_ go in Québec for ten months, and she's met… oooooh, I'm talking too much now, am I?), and will explain the pronounciation along. ****And I keep writing, I keep writing…**

**Yasei Raiden**** : Glad you love the twins! I was having a hard time choosing between male or female, and it was my husband who told me (he was getting quite annoyed, I had to admit) "why don't you do both?" **So, everyone, say "Merci Pierre-Luc!". And I love the names, too. ****I pick my names from people I know and love dearly, so the personnalities weren't very hard to create either! ****Oh, BTW! I appreciate reviews on my English, but you don't have to tell me everytime I make spelling errors… lol. ******I know I do. But I rather have something concrete to work on, like my sigh/sight thingy. No hard feelings, though! I know the intentions were loyal and kind! lol**

**Enjoy.**

_Où est allé tout ce monde qui avait quelque chose à raconter?  On a mis que__lqu'un au monde, on devrait peut-être l'écouter! (Harmonium)_

**_Link_**

~~

_Five years ago_

_I was listening to __Lydia__ and Josée's laughters in the living room, and smiled, putting a little more whipped cream on the __Black Forest__ cake I was making for the twins 11th birthday. Louis and Matthew were with Remy and Scott outside, playing ball or something, and the thought made me smile even more. As much as the two men couldn't really stand each other when they first known, now they could almost be considered as friends. Almost. They still didn't have the same personnalities, nor tastes, nor ways of living in general. Still, they had a point in common: being the fathers of the two bests friends in the world. And hearing the squeals and giggles outside, I was guessing they were making a good job out of it._

_Suddently something went wrong. I heard Remy's exclamation outside, and the screeching of tires of a car coming to a suddent stop. I was already running to the front door when I heard Josée cry out in the living room, and I ran towards her crying._

_She was sitting on the smooth carpet, clutching her leg. Hot tears were running down her cheeks, and she kept calling for me. __Lydia__ was sitting down next to her, a hand on Josée's shoulder. I sat down next to her and met __Lydia__'s eyes, filled with fear and incomprehension. "She was just getting up to go to the kitchen, and she just fell down, like something bad happened to her leg…" I was worried. Nothing had ever happened to my kids, nothing. Not a cold, colics, flu, headaches, nothing. The pain she seemed to have in her leg seemed more than real, though, and I bent to pick her small body up in my arms._

_I had managed to get on my legs with my daughter in my arms when Remy stormed into the house, carrying an uncouscious Louis in the same fashion, and my heart leaped. What was happening with my children all of a sudden?_

_"Call de mansion, Rogue! Call Beast, Louis got hit by a car." Scott was coming right after him, leading Matthew by the hand, and a small man was following, nervously twisting his hat in his hand. He stopped in the doorway, seeing me settle down Josée on a couch and picking up the phone, and whispered nervously, words coming out of his mouth at high speed._

_"I'm sooo sorry, m'am, I never saw him, he just ran in the street after his ball and I couldn't stop…" I flapped a hand, dismissing his words, and bent my head to talk to whoever was on the phone in the mansion, half a mile away._

_***_

_"He's going to be alright. His left leg was broken quite bad, but neatly, and it will heal rather quickly. He banged his head on the pavement but only has a few bumps on his head. He's as thick headed than you, Remy. I wouldn't worry about it." Henry smiled. I was reassured about Louis, but…_

_"What about Josée?" Henry pursed his lips._

_"Good question. I couldn't find anything, no bruises, no sprain… I don't know where the pain is coming from. I have an idea, though." He took a deep breath, and continued. "Twins often have some kind of connection between them. It can be stronger when the two are identical, but it also happens in our kind of case. It can be a mental link as well as a physical one. I've heard of twins who got a small pinch when their twin got hurt, and of twins who got guess what their brother or sister was thinking of, and finish each other's sentences. But I've never heard of twins who could feel the SAME pain. It probably has something to do with mutant genes, and I'm sure these two have many other surprises for us…"_

~~

She was nervous. Louis probably was too. She could also feel curiosity… and hurt. Josée sighed. She had barely kissed her brother's cheek at the airport, and hadn't spoken a word to him since her arrival in the house. She had gone up the stairs without a word under her parent's surprised look, and had been sitting on her bed for nearly an hour, wondering what to say to her brother.

They could feel each other's hurt. Not only physicaly, as they had discovered a few years ago, but also mentaly since they were 12. This they haven't told Remy and Rogue, wanting to keep something from themselves.Their link was so strong she had felt empty when she was alone in Québec, but now that she was back, the feeling of being whole again was back too. She wish it was gone for now.

Her father could feel it too, because of his strong empathy powers. Her mother too, but only because she knew her so well and because, well… because she was her mother, and mothers feel that. But she was afraid of Louis' reading, and was ashame of it. She took a deep breath, and head down the stairs.

***

He sat in the living room, absentmindedly watching something boring on the television. He was hurt, very deeply, by his sister's attitude. They were supposed to be the closest friends, the unseparable brother and sister. They were, before she left, and now she was back, and ignoring him. He could feel something had changed inside her. He used to know her like he knew himself, and she had come back as a girl he didn't know anymore. Sure, he had changed too. They were going to be 16 in a few weeks, they were teenagers, they were supposed to change, to turn into the adults they would become in a few years. But he never thought they would grow appart. He never wanted that.

He shifted a bit in the couch, uncomfortable with his thoughts. Maybe he was just being a paranoid, and things would come back to normal. They had been appart for almost a year, things would return as they were before she left.

He smiled a bit when she entered the living room and sat down on the couch next to him. He turned his head to meet her eyes, and recognized her, finaly. "I missed you, Jo." She smiled, looking so much like their mother.

"I missed you so much, Louis. And now that I haven't seen you for so long, I notice how much you look like dad… Hey, you even got the hair." She drove her fingers in his dishelved auburn hair. He snorted.

"Okay, so I need a haircut. Doesn't mean I have dad's hair, they're not grey yet…"

"Oh yeah, I noticed the grey temples! What did you do to him, Lou? Turned him crazy in a few months?" He raised his hands in defense, shaking his head vehemently.

"That grew alone, sis! Besides, mom ain't got any grey hair."

"Mom still looks like she's no more than thirty, Lou! I don't think she's ever going to have grey hair."

"Okay, so I _did_ try to turn him crazy. I was bored all alone, was it my fault?" He regreted his words the moment he said them, and her smile faded. "Sorry, Jo. I didn't mean that."

"No, you're right. It's not your fault I left you alone here." There was a long silence, and she let him see all that was inside her. Happiness of being home, of seing him. Stress and anticipation. And behind all of this, hurt and sadness. And a huge open wound, an unhealed heartache. He raised his hand, reaching for her shoulder, and gathered her as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What happened, Jo? Who did that to you?" There was a touch of bitterness in his voice, and she stiffened.

"Nobody did anything to me, Louis. I can hurt myself all alone, I'm a big girl now." He waited for her to talk. "The girl I made the exchange with, her name is Lilianne*. She the one who's coming here next year. You're gonna like her, she's full of energy and talks all the time. Not the kind of girl you get uncomfortable with, no awkward silences. Never. She just talks about everything and becomes everybody's friend."

"You two must have got along well."

"From the beginning. She has as older brother, he's something like 16 or 17 years old. His name's Antoine**. He's… well. He made me think of you, and dad." He frowned over her head. "And, well, we… we got… close."

"And I'm guessing "close" is an euphemism." She smiled in his shirt.

"That's why I was afraid to talk to you. Yes, close is an euphemism."

"You fell in love with someone who was like me and dad? You're freaking me out, Jo!" She giggled and pushed him away, meeting his eyes. Seeing he looked serious, though, she laughed even more.

"I didn't fall in love with him _because he was like you and dad! We got close because of it. He was… reassuring." Louis lifted a brow. Reassuring? What did she mean, reassuring? How could a guy be rea… "Not in that way, Lou!" She poked him in the ribs._

"Hey, I didn't say a thing!"

"You don't need to talk. I know you, and I can read you like an open book."

"You know what? I'm glad you still can."

**To be continued!**

Becki, this is for you :

* Lilianne is pronounced _Lee-lee-ann (pretty much like you would pronounce it "English style")_

** Antoine. Okay, a little bit more complicated to explain. The "An" sounds something like when you say "Huh?", not "Hann", so I guess it sounds something like _Huh-twann_, but without the aspirated H at the beginning… phew. I wish I could just say it to you!

***************BONNE FÊTE NATIONALE À TOUS LES QUÉBÉCOIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!***************


	3. Finding a friend

**Note :**** Okay! I'm on it know, head full of ideas and of plot twists… Sorry that took a couple of days, I know, I'm not used to taking so long in writing a chapter… But you see, I bought Harry Potter and it's sooooo good…**

**Tammy**** : The twins ARE great together. It's always nice to see some brothers and sisters actually getting along together. Anyway, my brother and I have always been good friends, so I wouldn't know how to write a fight between Josée and Louis. And it wouldn't be fun anymore.**

**T.**** : Glad you do! Here's more.**

**Becki**** : It's alright if you don't know French… We aren't in majority in today's world… And about Josée's sadness… You really think I'm going to answer this question? Patience is a vertue, Becki! Patience! And about the powers… welllll… I still have to figure _that out!_**

**crazytook**** : Yay, I'm so happy you like the flashbacks, cause there are going to be a lot in this… In my case, they are my best friends, after my cat Gilbert (my inspiration for Thing [were is that cat, anyway? Hum…]) and my computer, of course. How could I live without my computer!**

**Warmer than Fire**** : Thanks! I do have an handicap when I write, and it's always comforting for me to get reviews like that.**

**Yasei Raiden**** : Oh, you have an idea? Please do not tell… I still have to figure out how to write this part of the story, and I never would have guessed it would struck so many persons, so now I have to come out with something big… hum. Oh, and you didn't offend me in any way, don't worry!**

**ishandahalf**** : You'd love it? Okay **picks up a post-it pad and writes down a note** … "write a pointless and fluffy Remy-Rogue thing for ishandahalf"… **smile** There!! I'll think about it when the weather's a little less hot in here (**other post-it : get an air conditionner**)… I'll find a way to include some fluffy stuff in this fiction, though, so maybe it's going to satisfy that fluf crave of yours for a time, until I find something on the _edge_ of fluffy to write!**

**Lucky439**** : Glad you like it, but you _have to wait. Sure you can wait! You just need to practice. It's all a matter of patience._**

**Hope you still like it! Thanks for the reviews, and review more!**

**Enjoy.**

_Finding a friend_

_She was alone at the table. She usually sat with Lilianne and her friends for dinner, but Lili was sick today, and her friends were in a student consil reunion, and Josée had to go through the day without her friend. Not that anyone was mean at her, by any way. She had had a warm welcome in the school, both by the teachers and the students, but after a while, they had returned to their normal social relations, loosing interest in the young American girl. _

_She was beginning to long for home. She lived in a good home, with a nice family, and everyone was nice with her. She didn't have any difficulties with French; her father had taught her and her brother the language when they were young. He usually talked to them in his accented English, though, and she had lost a lot of her French, but it had come back without problem. But the Holidays were coming, and she knew it was going to be hard without her own family._

_She sighed and opened her lunchbox, but a masculine hand closed it, and a boy sat on the bench. She thought hard, trying to remember his name. "Philippe." He smiled at his name, and she frowned slightly. Lilianne had told her to stay away from some folks, and he was one of them. The other boys behind him giggled, waiting for their master to speak._

_"And you're Josée. Glad to finally meet you, I couldn't talk to you while you were sitting with the geek, I can't stand her."_

_"Lilianne's not a geek, Philippe." He snorted._

_"Who cares? Now I can talk to you, la belle. What are you doing tonight?" He leaned forwards to her face, sliding on the bench, and she pulled away as far as she could without falling on the floor. She was conscious of the looks they were getting from the other students, and she never liked being the center of attention._

_"Homework." He burst out laughing._

_"Now way! Nobody does homework on a Friday night! You better say yes, girl, I never ask twice."_

_"Good, so you'll leave me alone." He squinted his eyes and frowned. _

_"No girl ever said no to me, Josée. I don't like having no for an answer."_

_"Well, if you keep asking me, you better get used to it" she hissed in his face. "Does "I'm not interested" mean something to you? Je ne suis pas intéressée? That's what I have to say?" He inhaled sharply. She had spoken aloud, loud enough for the surrounding tables around them to hear,  and she heard giggles from the next table. She smiled. He didn't. He suddently rose from the bench and stood over her, menacingly._

_"Espèce d'agace…"_

_"Stand away, Philippe. She said no." Philippe and his minions turned on their heels to meet dark eyes._

_"Antoine! What a nice surprise" Philippe said ironicaly. "I was here before you, charming knight."_

_"I'm afraid the lady" Antoine nodded in her direction "is not pleased with your company, friend. Leave the girl alone, and everyone will be happy." They now had the whole cafeteria's attention, and everyone was silent. Philippe walked to Antoine, his face inches from his own._

_"Hey, school freak, nobody asked your help. Enough we tolerate a mutie freak in our school, don't come and mess with our business" he hissed in Antoine's face. He cast a mean look at Josée, and the gang left the cafeteria. There was a few moments of silence, then a gentle chatting began as the students went back to their previous conversations._

_Josée sat still, mouth agape, staring at Antoine, who stood uneasy near the table. He was a handsome young man, she thought. He wasn't the social kind and she only saw him once and awhile at the Bergerons house, but she never really talked with him. He was tall and his hair was as black as his sisters, but unlike Lilianne, whose eyes were of a light baby blue, his eyes were almost black. He looked at her, and talked, so low she had to concentrate to hear it._

_"Sorry about that. I won't bother you longer." He turned to leave, but she extanded a hand to grab his arm, and he snapped his head at her._

_"Sit with me, Antoine." She gestured at the large empty table, and had a shy smile. "I have to say I feel a little bit alone." He raise an eyebrow, but obediently sat down on the other side of the table, facing her. He took in a deep breath._

_"So you're not scared of sitting with a mutant?" He was more than hesitant, and she smiled, trying not to laugh._

_"I'm more scared of normal humans…Both my parents are mutants, Antoine, and so are all the adults I've known in my life. For all I know, I might be one as well and don't know it yet." His mouth opened and stayed that way._

_"Your parents are mutants? What can they do?"_

_"Oh, well… My mother can absorb life force and memory by skin contact, and powers when she touches a mutant. My father…He can turn potential energy into kinetic and explosive energy, making stuff explose. He used to do it by touching, but he can do it by concentrating now, without touching. It has to be on eye-sight, though. He also has some telepathic abilities, and empathy power." She waved her hand and smiled. "It's to long to explain… What are your powers?" He sighed before answering, and looked at his hands._

_"Well, I'm not sure. It seems I can manipulate the air around me, or something of the sort." Seeing my frown, he lifted his right hand and flipped it towards her sandwich. His eyes, she had first thought black, were really a deep blue, and they glowed a light purple when the air around the sandwich turned blue and the plastic wrap shivered, as shook by a small breeze. "I can use it as I like, I can create succion, use it to transport objects…"_

_"Can you fly?" His blue gaze switched to her, surprised._

_"How on Earth could I fly?"_

_"Well, aunth Ororo can manipulate the weather…And she uses winds to transport her body, so she can fly. Since you can manipulate the air molecules, I wondered if you could transport your own body." A spark lit in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards._

_"You know what? I've never really thought of that. Maybe I should try one day."_

_"Well, you just needed a girl to think about that." She smiled at him, and his lips streched into a large warming smile, lighting his usualy dark face. It was the first time she saw him actualy smile, and she was surprised to feel a warming feeling in the pit of her stomach. As he rose to leave, she said aloud what she was thinking. "You should smile more often, it fits you." She felt her cheeks go suddently on fire. Had she just really said that? His smile changed but didn't fade, and a rogue flash flickered in the deep blue eyes. He put his hands flat on the table and leaned down to her._

_"Well, I just needed a girl to make me smile like that, no?" With that he left, leaving her alone, blushing and staring at her very interesting sandwich._

~~

"There's somethin' wrong, _chérie. I can't say what…"_

"Well, we'll just have to wait sugah, 'cause she ain't gonna tell us." I watched him pace on the carpeted floor. We both had noticed the distance Josée had put between her and us since her return yesterday, but I knew my daughter, and knew we couldn't force her in admitting what was the problem. I had seen the hurt in her beautiful eyes, though, and had my own theories on the reason of that hurt, but telling Remy wouldn't improve his temper, and it was something that would heal in time. "Honey, please come in bed, Ah wanna sleep." He sighed and stopped near the bed, staring at the small lamp on the night table. I made a small laugh. "Remy, Ah can almost hear yah think!" He looked at me for a while, and finally slipped between the blankets. He gathered me close, spoon style, and I laughed again feeling the tense muscles against my back. "Remy, relax, please!"

"I'm worried."

"Ah'm sure yah don't have to. Yah're nothing but an over protective fathah." I reached up to my lamp and pulled the chain, turning it off, and turned in his arms to face him. I cupped his face and put my lips on his, and felt the release of his breath on my cheek. He squeezed a bit more, and I pulled back for some breath. "Let time heal the wounds, sugah." He opened his eyes and nodded slightly in understanding. We stared at each other for a while, my hands still on his face, and his arms around my waist.

Being older was doing him great, I had to say. Grey hair was beginning to grow on his temples, and small lines had appeared at the corners of his eyes and mouth, signs of a lifetime of smiling often. His eyes had changed in the last years, dark golden lines now miking with the bright red of the irises, lighting the eyes like they were dying embers. 

Not that he was dying in any way. His mouth curved into a gentle smile and he bent his head, kissing me.

~~

_Salut Josée!_

_How are you doing? The house feels so empty now that you're gone! It is soooooo boring around here, I can't wait to pack my things and head up to your place… You've talked so much about your brother and parents, and the weird mutant school and all the nice people you live with… I just can't wait! Summer here is never ending, and with Antoine at the hospital, I really have nothing to do besides writing to you._

_He woke up yesterday. He asked for you and I said you were already gone, and he was sooo mad… But you know him, he won't be mad very long at you! I told him to write to you, but he's so stuborn. Man! Can't live with them. And can very well live without! In my case, at least._

_Oh darn, my mother's calling for me… House cleaning time! I'll write more later!_

_Lili_

~~

She logged out after reading the email, and sighed, half with relief, half with ressentment. Well, at least he had waken up. Let him heal. The explaining would come later.


	4. The cat comes out of the hat

**Note**** : Woohoo! Okay, so I felt sadistik a bit when I wrote that. Sorry for making nice characters suffer a bit, but hey, life's never easy! The story had begun smoothly, but action is coming… (See, I remember saying that in Through Time, first chapter, and it took me 2 or 3 more chapters before any action occurred…lol). Oh, and gotta love the cliffhanger! This one is the best ever!**

**Lycky439**** : Great. You keep waiting, and I keep writing! Deal? ^_^**

**Ishandahalf**** : Powers manifesting? Hum, nice guess, but wrong one. That would be too easy, and I'm a lot crueller than that! **evil laugh**. Ahem. Fluff ahead! Told ya! And I'm seriously thinking about the fluffy pointless Remy/Rogue thing and I had an idea for a nice songfic, but the song is in French… If I give the translation, would it still be okay? French love songs are sooooo beautiful… Tell me what you think, so I can get on it! And I'm so glad you like Antoine! I'm doing my best to create a nice, charming, cute and powerful character. And don't worry, he'll have his place in the present story as well, in time… He's not the kind of guy you forget quickly!**

**Tammy**** : Woohoo! I made you talk! I'm happy you like this story as much as _Through Time_, and it's always a pleasure to see your name after each chapter. Reviews are my food, my air… and my reason to write.**

**KatLeBeau**** : Why, thank you! I'm really happy to know you like my stories, and reviews like that always make my day!**

**Enjoy!**

_The cat comes out of the hat_

_6 months before_

_She slipped out of the house a few minutes before the final countdown to __midnight__. Christmas had been so hard! Her parents had called and sent some money and presents for her, but she dearly missed them and Louis._

_Despite her miss, she had liked Christmas here. The Bergerons went in the forest a few kilometers away from the city to buy a real tree, and the fresh smell of pine tree filled the well decorated living room. But damn it was cold here!_

_It had snowed non stop for the last week, burrying everything under four feet deep heavy snow. The kids had run around like crazy, building snowmen all around the place, and now, in the middle of the night, the small neighberhood street looked like a military camp, full of soldiers standing on attention, waiting for orders. She shivered as the deep humid cold filtered through her winter coat and whool sweater._

_She heard the persons inside shout the last seconds to the new year, and she felt tears in her eyes. At the very same moment, everyone was gathered in the mansion, with all the X men and the Professor's mutant students… She wiped the tears with her gloved hand before they froze on her cheek, and sighed as another shiver shook her spine. "It must be at least minus 35 out here…"*_

_"Well, minus 38 to be exact, I checked on the thermometer…"_

_Josée turned on her heels to meet Antoine's eyes. "What are you doing out here?" He raised a brow in questionning._

_"I could ask you the same thing, and with a lot of more good reasons… I was looking for you. Your mother called at __midnight__, a few minutes ago, but we couldn't find you, and maman thought you had gotten in bed. Your mom said she would call back tomorrow night."_

_"Dammit…" The tears were back again, and she sniffed loudly. "I miss them so much…"_

_" I know." He stood there, waiting, as she hastily wiped the tears away from her green eyes. She looked down on her gloves to see the tears had in fact frozen in the leather, and smiled. "How in hell can you all survive here?" He had a low, deep laugh, and he walked the few steps between her and him._

_"Well, you will get used to it, it lasts until late march… I've grown here, and it's oftener cold than hot here, so I guess this is more our way of living than summer. Not that we don't like it!" he sighed._

_"My father would die here. He hates cold temperatures, I don't know why. It's like a phobia or something. I guess that's because he's from __New Orleans__."_

_"If I came from some place hot, I'd stay there."_

_"He had his reasons to leave __New Orleans__, I guess… You don't want to stay here?"_

_"Well, sure, I'd like to. But I don't know yet. I wanna finish school first, and then decide." She nodded as another shiver shook her. A small snowflake landed on her nose, and she wiped it away. "You want to come inside? It getting damn freezing out here,  even I'm cold."_

_She looked up at him. They had grown closer since the cafeteria adventure with Philippe, and she had helped him working on his powers. They weren't something positive for him until he had started really working, but he was changing his attitude towards them. But since the last day of school before Christmas, a week before, he was distant, and she didn't know why. Or worse : she knew why, but didn't want to really think about it. She met his eyes and felt a now usual stomach warming. Each time she would look in these eyes, she yearned for something she didn't have, something she knew he could give her…Here in the eerie silver light of the snow, his eyes were dark, almost black, but she could see the light purple shinning in the irises._

_Without knowing, she walked the step separating her from him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He enclosed her within his arms and leaned his chin on her head, and sighed. "That's a nice way of warming up, Josée, but my feet are still frozen."_

_"Mine too. But I don't care." She lifted her head and he stared into her own green eyes. The air was so cold it seemed to stuck in her nose, but she suddently could feel the warmth of his breath on her face, and the heat coming from his tall body._

_"Josée?" he whispered. "I think I'm going to do something stupid." His voice was barely audible, but his lips were so close to her face she heard every word. She felt another shiver, though this one wasn't due to the cold._

_"Me too. But I don't care." He smiled, and as he bent his head a little more, she felt her lips part involuntarily to greet his kiss. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste of his soft, warm lips on hers. She held on tight on his waist and his arms squeezed a little harder, and his tongue teased her mouth a little before exploring her mouth. She moaned, eyes closed, not feeling cold anymore, but burning from head to toes. He let go of his mouth and she breathed deeply, scared to open her eyes. She felt a warm hand on her cheek, and she leaned her face into it, like a cat looking for petting._

_"That warmed me a lot" he softly said into her ear. "but we better go inside before my feet turn into ice." She laughed a bit, and took his arm as they headed for the front door._

~~

It started with a vicious headache that caught her during lunch. She was in a small crowded café with Lydia, taking a break of the intense shopping therapy the girls had prescribed themselves. Josée had missed her almost sister, and they had talked non-stop since Jean had dropped them in front of the mall. She fumbled in her purse, looking for some aspirins, and sighed when she found the small bottle empty.

"Are you okay?" Lydia had noticed the slight grimace of pain on her forehead, and her eyes held a hint of worry.

She looked at Lydia. "I have a headache, but it'll pass, I'm sure. I was looking for an aspirin, but it seems I don't have any…"

"Wait, I think I have some."

***

Louis smiled at his image reflected in the aluminium rim as he drew back his hand from the waxing. Suddently, he put a knee on the ground and pressed a hand on his forehead, trying to make the suddent head-splitting headache go away. "Ye alright, Lou?" Louis lifted his head to meet his father's worried look from the front of the car, where Remy had been waxing the car hood.

"Yeah, sure, it's just the sun, I guess."

"Mebbe ye should go inside, den. I'll finish alone…"

"No, no, papa. I'll be alright."

***

"We should call my mom so she picks us up, Josée. Maybe you should lie down in your bed or something…"

"I said I was alright." Josée lifted her head from the sink, splashing some cold water in her face. "It's just a headache, Lee." Lydia looked dubiously at her.

"You look so pale…" Josée gave her an encouraging smile.

"The water helped, Lee. Let's got buy that nice skirt you saw before we came in here…"

Lydia's eyes followed her friend out of the bathroom, but she shrugged and followed Josée. No use in trying to convince a rock-stubborn LeBeau.

***

He let out a small exclamation as a sharp pain ran through his shoulders, and he let go of the rag he had in his hands. He got up on his feet, looking at his tingling hands. The headache was getting worse, and small black dots were dancing in front of his eyes. He felt himself sway dangerously, but he heard rushed footsteps and soon hands were on his shoulders, pushing down. "Sit, Louis. Put y'head between your knees. Dat's it." He slowly remembered Henry's first aid lessons, and breathed deeply. Oxygen and blood returned to his brain, and he felt conscious enough to open his eyes. Remy was crouching in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. "Feelin' any better?"

"No." The pain in his shoulders was hard to bear, and he clenched his fists, bracing his muscles as the white pain ran down his arms, and into his hands. He moaned, and Remy's hand suddently clenched on his shoulder, and he heard his father curse under his breath in French. Louis lifted his eyes, meeting the red on black eyes, and saw worry in the red and golden depths. Remy got up, and reached down a hand to help him up.

"Come on, _fils_, let's get'y to de med lab." Louis reached up and grabbed his father's hand.

***

Josée sat on a wooden bench, her head in her hands, as Lydia quickly dialed her mother's cell number on a public phone. The pain in her head had spreaded to her shoulders, and she could feel furious burning in her veins, bringing sharp pain in each finger. She had almost fainted a few minutes before, and she had sat down on the bench before falling on the floor.

She let go of her head and put her hands on the bench to steady herself. It seemed to help, and the tension in her arms loosened. She sighed with relief, until Lydia came out of the phone booth and yelled when she looked at her. No, not at her, but at the bench. Josée looked down and saw with horror that the bench was glowing a vivid red. Remembering the consequences of her father's powers, she quickly stood up and ran, grabbing Lydia's arm.

The wooden bench exploded, sending splinters everywhere.

***

His hand took his father's, and, almost instantly, he felt a great surge of power run through his arm and into his father's hand. He heard Remy's exclamation of pain as he jerked back his hand, before the world went black and he fell back on the ground. His head bumped on the paved alleyway, but he simply blinked as he realized the pain in his shoulders and arms was gone, except for a strong burning pain in his hand. Then he noticed the suddent silence.

He struggled with his numb body to sit up, only to see his father lying face down on the ground in front of him in complete stillness, unconscious. He swallowed a cold lump in his throath, and reached for Remy's body, gently touching his shoulder under the white t-shirt.

"Dad?"

**To be continued… Muwaahahahahahahahaha! **

* In celsius degrees. -35 celsius' equivalent in fahrenheits is -31… without the wind factor. It is so cold here in winter time!


	5. All is explained

**Note**** : Woohoo, I got the teens' powers out! I explain a lot in this chapter, but it will all become clear as the chapters come out.**

**ishandahalf**** : I know, I know, I felt so bad with the cliffhanger after posting the chapter on FF.N… But don't you worry, Remy won't die. I love him too much for that, and have other plans for him in future chapters. Besides, I've already killed him in a fic and still feel guilty about it, so no more Remy funerals for me. Okay! The French songfic it will be, but not for now, I still want to get this one going…**

**Becki**** : Well, not _exactly his mother's powers, since Rogue's powers don't have effect on Remy anymore (since _Through Time_, chapter 25, "Mr. Hyde". And if you say that they did have an effect on him in chapter 28, I'll remind you that he had the Genoshen collar on. Ah ha!). If Louis had the same powers as Rogue, he couldn't have hurt his father, which he did, and pretty bad. All will be explained in this chapter. And I'm tired of the pills… let them practice a bit, and get a little control on the darn powers! Hell, all the other X-Men can control theirs! LOL… I'll find another way!_**

**Tammy**** : How Rogue will handle this? Well, being married to Remy, I'm quite sure she has seen worse than that, you just re-read _Through Time_… And Louis is his son, so it's more like having two Remys in the house. Rogue is strong, she can very well handle this. I'd be more worried about Louis' reaction if I were you…**

**lucky439**** : Well, you're right… I'm in a writing urge right now (too bad no cute looking guys burst into my appartment, yelling "she's got the urge" and giving me a bottle a exctasy shampoo… okay, sorry for the small insanity moment), so the chapters some quickly. Okay, okay, you'll practice your patience later! Sorry about that, I'll find a way to manage a long time between this chapter and the next one… lol.**

**Enjoy.**

_All is explained_

****

_Hey girl!_

_How are you doing? I'm doing fine, I found a job in a daycare center, where I blow noses and stop hyperactive children from killing themselves by jumping off the swing. Thank God they can't get on the roof._

_Sure I accept your proposition of coming two weeks earlier! We'll have some time to catch up and do some fun stuff before school begins…_

_Good news : Antoine is coming out of the hospital next week. The doctors wanted to keep him longer, because of the damages he got to his head, but he insisted (a lot), and mom and dad did too, so they're letting him out. Seing the mood he's into since he woke up, I guess it's going to be a relief for the nurses._

_Write to him, Josée, please…He's too stuck up in his pride to do it himself, even if he wants to. He's… well, he's back to normal, I guess. Back to what he was before you came._

_I liked the smiling and laughing Antoine better. Please write to him._

_Lili_

~~

Louis rocked himself slightly in the chair in the med lab, arms around his drawn up legs, and chin resting on his knees. Violent and painfull sobs shook his chest as he looked at the uncouscious body of his father, lying on a bed near his chair. He had done that. He didn't know how, but he had badly hurt his father, who had been unconscious for the last hour. He looked dangerously pale to Louis, who felt another large wave of guilt wash over him, and tears stung his eyes. If anything happened to Remy because of him…

Rogue entered the lab, holding the two glasses of water she had gone to get. She handed one to Louis, but he shook his head.

"I don't want to touch your hand, mom. Put it on the table, please." Rogue sighed, but set down the glasses on the small glass table before seating in the other chair.

"We don't know what happened, sugah. It's not yah fault."

"No, of course." He said ironicaly. He got on his feet and walked to the bed, watching his father, concentrating in hopes it could make the red eyes open again. " I felt it, mom. I felt the pain leaving my shoulders and arms and go through my hand and into him…" Louis looked down at his bandaged hand. The burning feeling had subsided a little, leaving large blisters in his palm and on his fingers, and the skin on his wrist was a vivid red, gleaming in the neon light with aloe verra gel. "I could have killed him. He could still die, and it would be because of me."

"He is not going to die, Louis." Henry closed the door behind him, and turned towards Louis with a small smile. "Knowing your father, he'll want to get up in the following 24 hours. He's been through much worse."

"He's got mah powers, right?" said Rogue, getting up. 

"I don't think so" said Louis, turning to her. "I didn't feel like absorbing anything."

"Me neither" said a voice from the bed. Louis turned on his heels to see his father rubbing a hand on his forehead, eyes squinted against the pain. "I felt like I was gonna blow, instead."

***

Lydia lifted her head from under her arms. It was panic in the mall. People were running everywhere, sreaming and pulling small crying children by the hand, and a light white smoke covered everything. She turned her head towards Josée, a few meter away, who was struggling to get on her knees. She looked quite bad, Lydia thought, seeing the wide and scared green eyes of her friend. "Josée!" Josée snapped her head to her, and rapidly began to crawl on hand and knees in her direction.

"When is your mom coming?"

"Right away, she'll be waiting at the main entrance."

"Let's go, before I blow anything else."

Sure enough, Jean was waiting, franticly looking everywhere in the riot the mall had become. Then she saw the two girls running in her directions, and her eyes became angry. "What happened here?"

"I blew up a bench, and it seems everyone thinks there are bombs here." Jean's eyes went wide. 

"You blew up a bench?" Her mouth stayed open for a few moments, then she shook herself and waved towards the car on the other side of the glass doors. "Come on, let's go to the mansion."

***

"Blow?" said Rogue, weakly. Henry cleared his throath.

"You've got some internal burns, aside from your hand, which is burned to second degree. If I…"

He was cut by some noise in the corridor, before the door slamed open and Josée appeared in the door frame. "Papa? You're awake!"

"Yeah, y'could say dat." He managed a small grimace for a smile, and closed his eyes again. "I feel like a barbecued steak."

"What happened to yah?" Rogue asked her daughter seeing her dishelved appearance, and Josée turned to her.

"I… I blew up a bench at the mall. Like… Like dad does."

"What does that mean? I got mom's powers, and Josée got dad's?" Josée snapped her head at her brother. Mom's powers? That wasn't a good thing. Good thing they had the pills…

"I'm afraid it is not that simple. And since you are twins, my guess is that you both have the same powers, they just manifested different ways, since you touched different things."

"Thanks" said Remy.

"Different _material_,"corrected Henry with a glare at the bed "and Josée might have done the same to Lydia, if they had touched. The bench was less lucky."

"But what are our powers, exactly?" Louis asked. "If I can blow up stuff, then why…" He shivered violently at the idea, and didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to.

"Remy has charging powers as well. I think his body is used to that kind of power, and absorbed the charging instead of turning his potential energy into kinetic energy. That would explain the bad burns, and why he didn't… well, explose under your eyes." Everyone was silent. That didn't sound like a good thing as a power. "You seemed to have heritated of a mix of both your parents' powers, creating kinetic enery by touching material, and by charging biological material through skin contact, though it seems it hurts you too in the process" he added, gesturing towards Louis' bandaged hand. Josée sat down hard on a chair, looking at her hands. She had been wanting to have mutant powers, seeing how well the X men managed to control them. But beeing able to blow off people on a single touch was too much for her. She looked up at Louis, who was staring at his hands with an angry look. Henry sighed. "There is probably a way of adapting the anti-power pills to your powers. Just give me a few days. But remember one thing. If Rogue's powers are "on" all the time, Remy has perfect control on his charging abilities. In that case, you might have some facility to control this skin blowing thing, if you practice." Louis and Josée nodded together, and left the med lab, under the worried looks of their parents.

~~

_Ten years before_

_Josée clapped in her hands with glee as Remy lifted her to sit on his shoulders, and she looked around, not knowing where to lay her eyes. There were animals everywhere, all more beautiful than the others. She knew her father had put her on his shoulders so she would stop running everywhere with Louis, bumping into everyone. Louis was less lucky, having to hold their mother's hand. Both parents had turned angry in a few seconds when they had finaly found them at the zoo administration, where a nice woman with a large hat had brought them after finding them alone in front of the lions cage, but her brother and she had acted innocent and fluttered their lashes, and dad had calmed down, if not mom, who couldn't be fooled. Josée smiled. She always had her father in the palm of her hand. Okay, so she couldn't run anymore, sitting on the 6 feet high shoulders. But she had a wonderful view on all the things she couldn't see as a small 5 years old._

_"PAPA!" She felt him flinch as she yelled in his ears. She pointed at a small brown building, not far away, with a huge chimpazee staring at them on a 10 feet high poster. "I wanna see the monkeys!"_

_"Not yet, _ma belle_. We said w're gonna eat before we go to de monkeys' house."_

_"I wanna go to the monkeys!" Louis cheered from the ground, pulling on Rogue's arm, scanding "Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys" uncessantly, and Remy gave Rogue a look. "I WANNA SEE THE MONKEYS!" Remy's hands went under her arms, roughly lifting her, before he set her on the ground and crouched in front of her, so he could look her in the eyes. He looked angry, and she stared at the ground, tears in her eyes. This was the first time Remy really looked mad at her. She felt his hand under her chin, lifting her head, and she opened her eyes to see the red irises gleaming angrily in the sunlight. If dad had taken off his sunglasses to look at her, he really _was_ angry. He never took off his sunglasses in public places, nor in the bright sunlight, were the sunrays could hurt his eyes bad._

_"I won't let y'talk t'me like dat, girl! Dat's de way y'have to act, if y'wanna go straight home!" Josée lifted her head a little more, seeking her mother's help, but Rogue stood a few feet away, looking angry as well, firmly holding a pitiful looking Louis by the hand. "Look at me, Jo!" She reluntancly looked back in her father's eyes. "I y'want somethin', you ask it nice! I'm y'father, Josée, not a slave!" She nodded, eyes closed, trying to hold back her tears. Remy got up, putting his glasses back on, and reached down to take her hand._

_"Papa?" He looked down at her, looking a little annoyed._

_"What is it, Josée?"_

_"Can we go see the monkeys? S'il-te-plaît?" He smiled a little, but it didn't work._

_"I said: after lunch."_

_***_

_"It is believed that monkeys and humans are different evolutions from the same animal, a small monkey-like fox that lived millions of years ago…" A woman was standing in front of the chimpanzee cage where the monkeys were doing their show, jumping and swinging under the high pitched laughs and squeals of delight of the children gathered in front of the cage. Only the smiling parents seemed to be listening to the monkey gardian. "Now we have good reasons to believe that evolution is never finished, and nobody knows what humans will look like in another million years." Josée's eyes left the monkeys to turn to her father with a smile on her face. He saw her and smiled back, winking behind his sunglasses. She also saw another man walk near to her mother, and heard what he said to her._

_"Hey cutie mutie, you're on the wrong side of the cage!" Rogue's head snapped back at him and she glared, and Josée saw her father freeze. It took him only one step to be in face of the man and to slowly grab the man's collar. He took off his glasses with his other hand, and Josée heard the man gasp. Knowing her father, Josée knew the red eyes must have been glowing an errie red again, like glowing embers of a dying fire._

_"What's daddy doing?" Louis whispered in her ear. Everyone was silent, looking at the two men, and Josée had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Her father looked so angry, she didn't even recognized him._

_"Papa?" she asked in a febble voice. Remy took in a sharp breath, hearing her, and released the man from his grip on his collar. The man quickly withdrew, his back hitting the wall behind him when he couldn't go further. Rogue took Josée and Louis' hands, and walked towards Remy, motionning him to get out. They walked out of the monkeys house in a uneasy silence. _

~~

She looked angrily at the email on her screen, and resisted the urge of slamming her fist in the screen, letting it fall on the desk with a loud _thump _instead. Write to him? Why should she write to him, after the things he had said to her? If he was too "stuck up in his pride" to write to her, she wouldn't write either. Damn him, she thought with tears in her eyes, damn him and his stubborn attitude. She had managed so well before she knew him, and he had turned her world upside down in a few months. And she couldn't manage anything anymore, she thought, and let her head fall in her hands, sobs shaking her shoulders.

**To be continued!**


	6. Just say it

**Note**** : Okay. I _had to write something mushy after chapter 5, I was feeling down after all this negative energy. Here's more Antoine stuff, I hope you like him as much as I do…_**

**Tammy**** : I'm still trying to remember why I wanted to write that flashback. All I know is that I had the idea since chapter 2, but didn't know where to put it… I thought it fit well after the power disaster… Glad you love it!**

**Enjoy.**

_Just say it_

~~

_"Ah! __Je vous trouve, enfin… Je vous présente Daniel*, mon nouveau copain!**"_

_Josée smiled at Lilianne. Another boyfriend? Antoine seemed to think the same thing, and had an ironical smile on his lips as he looked up from his lunch to greet the newcomer with a wink. "Hi, I'm Antoine, Lili's brother."_

_"And I'm Josée, the girl from the exchange program."_

_"And Antoine's _girlfriend_" Lilianne giggled, and Josée blushed. Antoine grinned at her, and looked up to his sister. They had both been scared to talk about their new relationship to Lilianne, but the fear had been unfounded, since Lili was willing to scream it on the rooftops. She kept "giving them privacy" and often deserted to leave them alone. It wasn't very hard for her, Josée thought. Lilianne was the entire school's friend and knew everyone… and seemed to have a new boyfriend every month. She met her friend's clear blue eyes, and pulled on Lili's sleeve._

_"You just stop saying that to everyone, we already are getting a lot more attention than I like to. And you're staying with us for lunch today!" She smiled at the shy handsome blonde guy standing next to the table. "And so does Daniel!" Daniel gave a little grateful smile at her and sat next to Antoine._

_"But I want to leave you guys alone, I don't want to interrupt…"_

_"You already did, sis" Antoine said with a grin. "Does it look like it bothers us?" Lili bit her lip, smiling at her brother, and Josée felt a fresh wave of affection for the girl._

_"Hey, you leave us alone so often I almost miss you, Lili." She turned her head towards her, and smiled even wider._

_"I have an idea."_

_"Well, that's new." Lilianne glared at her brother, and resumed._

_"Why don't we go to the __mt.__ _Orford___ this weekend, and climb it? The view is wonderful from up there, and the forests are green again."_

_***_

_"There we are!" Daniel's cheering voice came from a few feet above her head._

_"C'est pas trop tôt…***" mumbled Lilianne from behing her. "I can't breathe anymore! God it's cold here!" Josée laughed, and turned to her._

_"Hey, it was your idea!"_

_"I know, I know… Remind me not to have any of these ideas anymore!" Josée stopped in her tracks, letting Lilianne go ahead and waiting for Antoine, who was carrying a packsac full of food and water. He didn't look tired, but walked slowly, looking into the forest around them._

_"You sure don't look in a hurry." He looked at her and smiled, opening his arms and gesturing at the trees all around._

_"Are we? Take a snif, Jo." He sighed with pleasure, letting air filling his lungs. "I really feel I belong here, Josée, this is such a beautiful day. Wanna eat here?"_

_"Daniel and Lilianne are a little higher, at the top."_

_"Bah, too much wind up there. And they'll probably want some privacy" he added with a large grin. He dropped the packsac on the ground and sat down in the leaves, and Josée sat next to him. He put an arm around her waist and, pulling her close, dropped a kiss on her offered lips. "What do we have for lunch?"_

_"Sandwiches, Toine. And fruits, and a little bit of chocolate I managed to slip in while Lili wasn't watching." His lips streched in a grin, and he fumbled in the bag, looking for his prey. He drew back his hand with some chocolate covered peanuts, and grinned even wider._

_"Gotta love you, Jo!"_

_Her own smile faded at his words, but he didn't notice, busy pulling out the sandwiches from the bag. Five months. Five months since they had kissed on New Years day, and they hadn't really been further than that. Sure, they got out to watch some movies, going to the restaurant, holding hands  and eating together at school, but she had never said the words, and neither did he. At first she put the blame on the fact that he was the first person as close to a boyfriend she ever had, and that it probably wasn't love that was between them, but as weeks passed, she was getting more and more dissapointed with the turn in their relationship they weren't taking. She craved for more._

_Sure, he had just said it, but it was an expression, gratitude for the chocolate goodies, because of Lilianne health craziness. She sighed without noticing, sinking her teeth in her sandwich. Antoine noticed, though, and lifted his head from his apple. "Everything okay, Jo?" She stared at him._

_"Sure, why not?"_

_"Well, coeur qui soupire n'a pas ce qu'il désire****, Josée. __And you just let out three of those sighs in less than a minute."_

_"Oh, well… I was just thinking, about stuff."_

_"As long as it's about me," he added with a devilish smile. She smiled back, and he dropped the apple on the bag. He reached to her sandwich and took it from her hand, putting it back in its wrapping. She looked at him as he leaned over her, and gently bent his head to kiss her, pushing her back. She sighed again, letting herself lay back in the grass, and their tongue met, exploring each other's mouth. After a time, Antoine pulled back for air, and Josée decided to take a step forward._

_"I love you" she whispered. Antoine's eyes popped open, and he looked thunderstrucked for a few moments. His mouth hung open, but he managed to stammer a few words out of it._

_"You… you what?"_

_"I…I said… I said I love you." She felt her throath tighten, and tears slowly welled up to her eyes, as he stayed silent and stared into her watering eyes. Here in the sunlight, his eyes showed their real color, lighting a deep purple gleam in the blue dephts. They always showed a lot of emotions, and now she saw interrogation in it, and… and?A smile made its way on his face, and he suddently burried his head in her neck, squeezing her tight. He mumbled something in her shirt, and she tried to push him away, trying to look at his face._

_"What?"_

_"I said, "Mon Dieu"." He drew back and kissed her again. That wasn't quite the words she had been waiting for, but the kiss was sweet and tasted like apple, and she didn't have the heart to push him away. He did pull back, though, and stared into her eyes again. The tip of his nose touched hers, but she didn't blink, waiting. He smiled. "Je t'aime, moi aussi. And I've been waiting for weeks for telling you." He bent his head as tears began to run on her cheeks, and he kissed her eyelids. "I love you so much, Josée." She reached up and kissed him again._

_The kiss went deeper, and she held on tight to his wide shoulders and his fingers ran in her dark auburn hair, cupping the back of her head. She put a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him even closer, and ran a hand down his back, and up again, sliding under his shirt. He suddently broke the kiss, and put his hand on hers, stopping it. She opened surprised eyes. He was out of breath like her, and his almost purple eyes were covered with a light mist of desire. But he shook his head, already pulling away. "No. Not here, not now" he simply said. Josée's eyebrows rose._

_"But, Antoine, I didn't want to…"_

_"Not here." He kissed her, a light kiss that only made her want more. "Not now." She sighed, and soon they heard Lilianne's heart-warming laugh and Daniel's voice, coming towards them. Antoine picked up the leftovers and put them in the packsac. They got up, waiting for their friends, and he put a hand on the small of her back, pulling her close, and bent down to kiss her forehead._

_"I love you."_

~~

Josée sat on her steno chair, staring at the blank screen in front of her.

_Antoine_

She had only managed to write one word. She wanted to write more, but the words couldn't get out, and the letters blurred as her eyes filled with tears. Her hands hovered over the keyboard, and she tapped a few keys.

_How are you?_

She sighed angrily, pressing on the backspace key. What a stupid thing to write! Of course he would say he was fine. He probably had just gotten out of the hospital where she had practically sent him, and had been silent for almost a month. Of course he was fine! She put her fingers on the keyboard again, hesitating, but a small beep signaled her the arrival of a new message in her mail box.

Hands shaking, she opened the mailbox, and her heart leaped when she saw the Bergeron family's email adress.

***

_Oh, Josée, it's terrible._

_Antoine left. __He packed his stuff in one single packsac and left a few minutes ago. Dad tried to talk him into staying, but they both yelled a lot and Toine slammed the door on his way out, and took his car._

_I know you proposed that he would go to that mutant school you talked about, but I doubt a lot that's where he was heading. Josée, he looked so angry… If you have any news from him, any! please call us! _

**To be continued!**

* pronounce "Da (like "that", without the final T) – nyel" 

** "Ah, there you are, finaly! Let me present you Daniel, my new boyfriend!"

*** Litteraly "Not too early". In other words, "Finaly!"

**** "Heart that sighs does not have its desires fulfilled". Or something like that.


	7. Decisions

**Note**** : Oh, I'm so sorry, that took forever to come out, and I had so much to do… Okay, I had no excuse, I did write yesterday but it had nothing to do with this. Chapter 7 is now officialy finished, and I consider it a big part of the beginning of the story… Thank you so much for the reviews, I love you all! And don't ask too many questions in your reviews… You know you're not going to get the answers that easy!**

**Lucky439**** : Poor _Josée? Wait 'til you read _that_! Lol, we'll see who's 'poor'…_**

**KatLeBeau**** : Glad you liked the monkeys… I went to the zoo a few weeks ago, and it gave me the idea. As for Josée and Antoine, I figure things will twist up a little for them… You can always count on me to make characters sad and suffering. Life's never easy in my stories!**

**Talia458**** : Oh, you scared me for a second! So you like Josée, Louis and Antoine (I tend to put too much Josée in this story, forgetting Louis, but I swear I have big projects for the boy)… Good thing, because they're the main three characters… Remy too, and a little Rogue (though she's still the only one to have her own POV in the story… vestige from _Through Time_, I guess), but you have to love the teens!**

**Warmer Than Fire**** : I _has been a while since you'd review my stories… *snif* I thought you'd forgot about me!_**

**Crazytook**** : Now take a deep breath, and take your time for this one… It's a bit depressing, but that's the way the story's going. Besides, you all wanted to know what had happened to Antoine…**

**Ishandahalf**** : Wait! Listen! Oh my God, isn't that ominous music I hear? Oooooh, is something bad going to happen? I'm so sorry this is going out just after the horrible thing I wrote yesterday, it makes it sound like I'm never going to write fluff again… Do not fear, fellow fiction-reader! I'm smiling again! Fluff on the way! I promise (for real).**

**Tammy**** : Still glad you like it. Hope you're going to like this one…**

**Becki**** : Okay, I read your review, and some answers can be given here. Josée and Louis have the _same powers, though they still are kind of a mystery for them. What we know, is that they can charge stuff (just like Remy) by touching it, __which they can control, but __also that they can charge biological material (such as human flesh) by skin-to-skin contact, __which they can't control, don't ask me why. Now Remy didn't blow up on Louis' contact, because he has the same kinetic charging power, and that his body absorbed the power surge instead of transforming his potential energy into kinetic one (which I wouldn't want to see…). I had to put a little Roguy in their powers, so I gave them the touching curse, even though they can't absorb life force like their mother. Flame me if you want, I'm sure they'll find a way to get control on this. Also, don't forget the strong physical and mental link between the twins, that could turn out to be very important… *wink* As for Antoine, well, what happened to him to be in a hospital is told here. As for where he's heading… _**

**Nessie**** : Well, my main characters are the twins and Antoine, and the other X-Men are just background… for now! Now, we haven't seen any villains yet, haven't we?**

**Sora kinomoto**** : thanks!**

**Enjoy!**

_Decisions_

_She knocked lightly on the door, and entered without waiting for an answer. He was lying on his bed, eyes closed, hands folded behind his head. He opened his eyes when he heard her come in, and smiled sadly. "When?" he simply asked, his voice cracked. _

_"In two weeks." His eyelids dropped down as he only nodded, and Josée noticed the bobbing of his adam's apple as he swallowed hard. She walked to the bed and layed down next to him, putting her arms around his waist, and his arms went around her shoulders, pulling her close. "The plane leaves Montréal at __5 pm__, the Sunday after the last day of school." He exhaled slowly through his nose, and Josée felt her eyes sting with fresh tears. She squeezed his, burrying her face in his shirt. "I'm going to miss you" she whispered, and his arms tightened on her shoulders._

_"Me too, Jo."_

_"You'll write to me, huh?"_

_"I promise. And I'll call you." He dropped a kiss on her forehead and sighed. The last weeks had gone terribly fast, and the day when she would go back home was coming even faster. It hurt both of them to think of separating. Tears were running on her cheeks now, and she felt cold inside._

_"I'm afraid I'll loose you, Toine." He didn't move for a few moments, then his hand went under her chin, lifting it so he could see her emerald green eyes._

_"I won't let that happen, Josée."_

_"Come with me" she said, her voice barely audible. His eyebrows went up at that, and she felt a wave of renewed assurance. She lifted herself on one elbow, and stared into his eyes. "Come with me, Antoine. There's Xavier's school for mutants, you could stay there, they'll show you everything about your powers, show you how to use it…" He frowned._

_"I don't know, Jo." Her heart skipped a beat. She never thought he would say no._

_"What?" she asked weakly. He bit his lower lip and gathered her closer, leaning his head on the top of hers._

_"I'm sorry. I'll think about it, okay?"_

~~

"I just can't figure it out" said Louis, playing with a small white pebble. He grimaced slightly and the pebble glowed a few seconds before Louis threw it away. It exploded in the airs a few feet over the ground, and Louis layed down in the grass with a sigh.

"You can't figure out what?" asked Josée.

"Why didn't we get only dad's powers? It would have been easier."

"Well we didn't really get mom's powers. We can't absorb other people's life force or stuff. Besides, I don't think dad thought his powers were easy when he first got them."

"But we can hurt people by touching their skin, like mom. Dad can't do that, he can't charge living cells, only concrete dead stuff. We're stuck with mom's curse, we can't touch anyone without risking of blowing their head off."

"I guess we're lucky we have to touch… Dad can charge things just by concentrating on something."

Louis shivered. "Well, that would be _great, wouldn't it?" he said ironicaly. Josée sighed and layed down next to her brother, and swallowed hard the permanent lump she had in her throat. Closing her eyes, she felt Louis stir next to her, turning on his side. "What's wrong, sis?" Josée opened her eyes and turned her head, meeting her brother's deep green gaze on her. "Did… did he write to you?" She sighed and closed her eyes._

"No. And he probably won't…. he…" Louis sat up before she could finish, muttering something like 'bastard' under his breath. "Louis, he ran away." He turned his head to her, frowning.

"He what?"

"He left his home, heading who knows where. He had a fight with his father, and nobody knows where he headed for…" her voice cracked, and she sat up, putting her face in her hands. "I just hope he's okay, and that he's gonna give a sign or something…"

"Josée? You said he was a mutant, right?" She lifted her head to look at  him.

"I don't see why that could change anything."

"Well, the prof could find him with Cerebro."

~~

_Josée got out of the car and closed the passenger door. She turned towards the door, but stopped, noticing Antoine handn't moved from his spot near the driver's door._

_"I'll stay here."_

_Josée felt her heart stop, but only sighed. She knew it would come to this. She turned back, facing Antoine._

_"Why?"_

_"I can't leave here." He dropped his head, putting a lot of attention to his old car, wiping some squashed flies with his thumb. She put a hand on his arm, and his shoulders slumped, as carrying a lot of weight._

_"Why, Antoine? It'd be home to you there." He closed his eyes, and shook his head. His other hand went to hers and grabbed it, squeezing tight._

_"You trust me, right? I'll explain it all to you, in time. And I'll see you" he added quickly, opening his eyes to stare at hers. "I won't let you down, Josée. But I can't come with you. Not know." _

_"What are you talking about?" He sighed deeply and looked at the sky a few seconds, before closing his eyes._

_"Please, Josée…"_

_"You aren't hiding anything from me, aren't you?" He frowned._

_"And what if I am?" He violently shook his head. "What's wrong with you, Jo? Since when are you so possessive?"_

_"Since I want to know what's wrong with you!"_

_"NOTHING's wrong with me, Josée! You're the one who's going all crazy with something you don't know a thing about!" His voice was rising dangerously to an aggressive tone, and Josée was utterly conscious of the curious looks of the neighbours. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, but when she looked at him again, it hadn't worked._

_"I would, if you explained it to me" she hissed. His eyes squinted._

_"And since when would I have to explain everything to you, Josée? You have no right on me!" Her heart squeezed, and her mouth fell opened. He had hit a sensible spot. He sensed it, but continued. "And I have no right on you, Josée, we don't own each other!" She squeezed her eyes shut, and tears welled up to her eyes._

_"So? Am I nothing to you? I'm have no importance to you're eyes, because I'm not… because I'm just a girl? Nothing serious?" He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it, staring at her. Then he closed his eyes, probably counting to ten as well, and slowly shook his head again._

_"No. Don't put words in my mouth, Josée. I never said that. Never even thought of that!" She didn't reply, looking down the street, and swallowed._

_"I'll loose you." He sighed._

_"Of course not."_

_"Yes I will." She turned to him and raised watery eyes to him. "It could never work, so far away. And I… I would understand you want to stay here, you're only seventeen and me fifteen and… and we have so much to see…"_

_"What are you trying to say to me, Josée?" Though he had probably meant it gentle, there was a hard tone in his voice, and the lump in her troath hardened._

_"I'm trying… to make this easy. But I can't." His face darkened even more, and she looked at her feet. "I'm going inside, we'll talk later."_

_***_

_He had been pacing in the alleyway for over half an hour, and hadn't gathered the courage to go inside to talk to her._

_This was bad. Real bad._

_She wanted them to break up, he knew it. Well, maybe not "wanted", but she thought it was the best thing to do. And it probably was. He already had had a relationship with a girl far away and it had turned into hell, and love had turned sour. It was either go with her, let her go, or go insane. The two last possibilities were far from attractive._

_"But I can't go" he told himself. He had put himself into deep bullshit, and couldn't go anywhere before taking care of it. _

_He turned to his car, and pulled out his keys from his pocket. _

_***_

_"Allo oui? Oui…"_

_The tone in Claire's voice made Lilianne and Josée raise their head from the math book their were working on together, and they saw the expression on her face go from curiosity to extraordinary sadness. She raised a hand to her face, and Josée noticed that it was shaking quite bad._

_"Est-ce…est-ce qu'il va bien? Il va s'en sortir?"* The answer she got from whoever was on the other end of the line obviously wasn't positive, and she closed her eyes. "Oh mon Dieu…" She had gotten François's attention as well, and Lilianne's father walked to his wife, putting a hand on her shoulder._

_"Qu'est-ce qui se passe, Claire?"** She whipered a small 'Merci' in the phone and hung up. She stared at it for a moment, her brown hair hiding her face. Daniel was frowning behind her, and Lilianne was on her feet, her hands flat on the table._

_"Maman, c'était qui? Antoine?"*** Claire finale turned to them, eyes full of tears. _

_"Antoine had an accident…" her voice broke, but she continued. "They don't know if he's going to make it."_

* Is… is he okay? He's going to live?

** What's going on, Claire?

*** Mom, who was that? Antoine?

BTW : François = Frun-swa, Claire = Kl-air

**To be continued!**

**(I'm soooo sorry for that depressing chapter…)**


	8. New feelings

**Note**** : Okay, time for a little sunshine! Let's forget Antoine and his adventures for a few lines…**

**Tammy**** : I'm sorry it was sad, but it had to be put in for story comprehension. I hope this will make you more happy!**

**Lucky439**** : Poor everyone? LOL, you are so funny! Yup, you could say that!**

**Ishandahalf**** : ** looks down at her feet, blushing** I'm sorry, mea culpa, _désolée_, I never wanted to make you mad, but I had to put it in the story… Now, there wasn't meant to be any fluff in this story for quite a few chapters, but *sigh* I'm a too sensible person, and I love you too much to leave you to die in your living room because you didn't have enough fluff to breathe. Lol. So, I _wrote some for you! You're the inspiration for my bran new fluff material (I couldn't really use Antoine/Josée anymore, at least not for now, because of recent events, and as for Remy and Rogue, well, the story is most centered on Louis and Josée, so it wouldn't have fitted in the general story line… for the moment)! I hope that will make you happier! Okay, it's more cute than fluffy, but everything needs a beginning… Besides, I was thinking of doing something with these two…_**

**Enjoy!**

_New feelings_

He looked up from where he was sitting, watching the house where he had grown up. The house his father had built (well, maybe not alone) for his mother. The house where he had thought, all his life, that all was well. But now…

Now, he was stuck with powers he didn't know what to do with. Powers that could destroy, that could kill with a single touch. Not even his mother could do that! At least she had to hold on for quite a while onto someone in order to suck his life out. But he, Louis, just had to brush someone else's skin and BOOM! Life energy transformed into kinetic energy, unstable particules, and explosion of limbs and body parts. He shivered. Horrible. He had to get a grip on that power, or would live in fear for the rest of his life.

But he was in a bad mood also because of his sister. He wasn't angry with her, of course, but he could feel the angst and despair she felt in his head. Kinda like the empathy his father had, but stronger. These feelings weren't his, they felt alien in his head. But they were making him feel miserable.

"You're alone?" Louis looked up from where he was sitting, meeting blue eyes intent on him.

"Hi Lee… Yup, I'm alone, you're looking for Josée? I think she's in the house."

"Oh no, I wasn't looking for her. I was… just taking a walk, and ended up here." Louis looked back, where the mansion was clearly visible, a huge brown house sitting in the middle of big trees, its glass windows reflecting the sunshine. Lydia sat in the grass in front of him, and gave him a shy smile. "So… how are you doing?"

"Fine, as long as I don't touch anyone." Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes to the sky.

"You know, Josée has the same powers than you, and I don't hear her complaining all the time about it…"

"She has other things to think about, Lee" he interrupted. 

"And you should have some other things to think about too, Louis… You're going to die with boredom if you stay sitting in the grass all day long." He chuckled.

"Maybe. But I have company now, don't I? You could stay here, we'll die of boredom together." He gave her a grin, and she smiled. He thought he saw a light blush rising on her cheeks, but it just might as well be the sun shinning on her face.

"Finaly! A smile. You look much better with a smile on, Louis."

"What do you know, I take that from my father. I look good all the time." She laughed.

"You got a lot from your father, you cockerel! Appart from your eyes, I'm afraid you haven't got a lot from your mother!" He did his best to look hurt, and gave her his best puppy eyes.

"A cockerel? Oh, you're hurting me now. What do you mean, lots from my father?" She blushed again, this time Louis was sure of it.

"Oh, well, physicaly talking, I mean… The smile, your face, your hair, your… general… body shape, I mean." She was giving a lot of attention to her hands in her lap, and a large grin crossed his face.

"Well, I hope I haven't got a lot from my mom, 'physicaly talking'… Wouldn't be very manly of me having my mother's body shape." She rolled her eyes, turning even redder, if such a thing was possible.

"Louis, you're impossible! You know what I mean!"

"No. Explain." She raised her head and gave him a look.

"Darn, you've got all from your father! You even got his pig headed attitude and his incredible abilities in annoying people, when you want." He laughed whole heartedly, letting himself fall back in the grass.

"Now, you've got that cue from _your father!" There was no answer, and he looked up at her. She had a small smile on her lips, and was looking at her hands again. "Did I say something wrong, Lee?" She shook her head._

"No, no… it's just… I hope I haven't got a lot from my father." Louis frowned, and sat up.

"What do you mean? He's a real stickler for the rules, but he's still a very good man." She closed her eyes and shook her head again.

"Yeah I know… I was talking about mutant powers. I… I hope I got more from my mom than my dad." Louis sighed. Scott's powers weren't an enjoyable thing either. He could hurt, and get hurt, if he hadn't his special glasses on.

"Well… We'll know in time, won't we? Until something happens, there no use fussing over that." She nodded.

"You're right." There was an awkward silence, and he reached out and squeezed her knee, feeling the roughness of the blue denim under his fingers.

"Hey Lee, nothing's easy for anyone, especially when you're living here." He waved to the landscape around them, including the Xavier mansion and the LeBeaus house in his gesture. She chuckled and layed down, her back sinking in the fresh cut, sweet smelling grass. She was utterly aware of Louis' hand on her knee, and was surprise to feel slightly disapointed when he pulled it back. She sighed.

"What do you think about your sister's love stories?" Louis snorted.

"Well I don't know a lot about it… I'm still under the impression she fell in for a bastard." Lydia laughed, a cristaline sound in the summer hot air.

"She musn't have told you a lot for you to think that!"

"No, she didn't. I'm not her best friend, I'm only an annoying brother."

"A protective brother" she corrected.

"He hurt her."

"He hurt himself, too." Louis sighed.

"Maybe. But I don't know him, so I don't really care about what he feels right now. I'm only worried for Jo." Lydia sat up and looked down at him.

"She's a big girl, Lou. She can take care of herself." He nodded, and closed his eyes.

Lydia stayed there, looking at him, a little surprised by a suddent warm feeling in her stomach. Louis was a friend, almost a brother. What was going on with her? She shook her head, and layed back, closing her eyes as well. She heard him move at her side, and concentrated on looking normal and serene. "Why are you asking?" His voice came from closer than she thought he was, and she started and opened her eyes. He was lying on his side, a hand supporting his head. He had that ironic grin on his face again, and she resisted the urge to slap him when she realized he knew he had surprised her. She put a hand on her breast, trying to calm the beatings of her heart, instead.

"What?" His grin widened even more.

"I said" he whispered, moving closer "why are you asking about Jo's love stories? You're jealous you don't have an Antoine of your own?"

"I have enough of you on my back, half-cajun." He giggled at the name, and Lydia put a hand on his chest, pushing him away, and rose to her feet. "I don't need another flirting cute French boy after me. Louis, I have to get back home for dinner… See ya later!" He waved to her as she turned away, a strange feeling in his chest, and watched her as she walked back to the mansion, her long golden red hair tied up in a pony tail swinging from left to right with each of her steps. He rose to his feet, a little short of breath, and called to her, running in her direction.

"Lee, wait! I'll walk you home."

***

"Try hittin' one of de targets, Jo." Josée turned and glared at Remy, standing in the control booth with one of his devilish smiles on his face. Louis chuckled at her side, and she poked him in the ribs. She turned back to her father, standing next to Logan behind the glass window.

"What do you _think_ I'm trying to do, papa! I have to work on my aim!" Louis really laughed this time, but Josée didn't bother looking at him.

"Well, if y're as good as y'mother with y'aim…" Remy trailed off, and Josée felt the heat rise in her face.

"Papa!" She turned back to the targets and charged the ball she had in her hand. She threw it, and it hit one of the dummies, sending cotton whool and fabric everywhere in the Danger room. She turned back to the booth, glaring. "There! Happy now?"

"_Beaucoup, merci_. Dat was much better, _chérie_." She sighed, and looked at Louis, who was having much more success by hitting every single dummy in the place.

"I'm leaving, I'm tired." Louis looked at her, a surprised look on his face.

"Hey, if I have to stay, you stay with me." She glared at him.

"Make me stay" she hissed. "Why do you bother? You're better at it than me." She turned on her heels to leave, but Louis reached out and grabbed her arm.

She was wearing short sleeves, and he wasn't wearing any gloves.

***

It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it felt like hours to him. He felt the same as when he had touched his father, the burning sensation coming from his shoulder and shooting through his arm and into his hand. There was something different, though, and he noticed that the same burning came _into_ him at the same time, going through his body like a lightening bolt, and burning both his hands. He finaly managed to let go, and fell on his knees.

The sound of running steps came to him, and he opened his eyes, seeing his father and Logan coming towards them. Remy looked quite panicked, and Louis managed to raise a hand, signaling that all was fine. Josée was on the floor on hands and knees, shaking her head, and she raised it, meeting Louis' eyes. She looked stunned, and surprised, but not hurt. Her hands were glowing a bright red, and he looked down in time to see his were glowing too, although the glow was slowly fading, the hands returning to their normal color. Remy leaned down to him, and Louis put a hand on his arm for support. Everything was spinning around him, and he wasn't really sure what had hapenned. Josée was already on her feet, helped by Logan, and she looked at him again. "What the hell happened?" she whispered. Remy frowned.

"Are y'alright?" Louis nodded in the same time as Josée, and he noticed his father's arm was shaking under his hand. Remy reached out and pulled Josée in his embrace. "_Mon Dieu_, you two scared me like hell!"

"Do it again." Remy snapped his head up, glaring at Logan.

"Are y'out o'your mind, Logan?"

"The kids are okay, aren't they? I think they should do it again." Remy's eyes glowed with anger, but Louis put a hand on his shoulder.

"Something happened, _papa. Not the same than when I touched you. Did you feel it, Jo?" She nodded._

"It felt queer, but I felt something like… like an exchange of some sort." Remy's eyes went from Louis to Josée, a deep frown on his face.

She lifted her arm, opening her hand. Remy swallowed and took a few steps back, as did Logan. Having an idea, Louis bent down and picked up a practice ball, then stood up, reached out his left arm, and grabbed Josée's shaking hand.

The same weird feeling came, but he felt like he had more control on it this time. Their gaze locked, and he could see a strange green glow in his sister's eyes. His hands burned without hurting, and he looked down to see they were glowing red again, and the ball looked as if it was on fire. Without knowing why, he raised his right arm and threw the ball, aiming for a dummy.

Everything exploded. He let go of Josée's hand to put his arms over his head, leaping to the ground and landing hard on the cement floor. When everything was silent again, he cautiously raised his head from under his arms to see Remy, Logan and Josée were lying on their stomachs as well, looking stunned. He looked in the dummies' direction, and gasped.

The wall had disapeared. In front of them was a hole as big as a truck, and they could see outside, were some mutant kids were standing in the grass, stopped in their soccer game by the explosion, and looking at them with eyes as wide as flying saucers.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, looking at his hands in disbelief. "What the hell was _that_!"

**To be continued!**


	9. Like in the movies

**A/N: I am sooooooooooo sorry it took that long, but I was out of ideas for a few days, and then I went for a few days of vacation in the moutains, away from computers and cars, and I work a lot and… I'm sorry! I promised it'll never take that long again! Well, maybe, but… but… I'll do my best! Promise! **

**Enjoy!**

**Ishandahalf**** : well, more Rogue and Remy stuff to come. Not much fluff in the following chapters, though, I've decided to turn dramatic a bit (remember that little annoying thingny the dictionary calls a "plot"?). More ominious music to come! Oh, and I AM still thinking on that ultra fluff story! Still to come! I have to work on my updates on this story first.**

**Warmer than Fire**** : Plot twists? My mind is even more twisted than you think! I like twist. I just don't dance it very well (I have very bad knees…lol), but in writing…**

**Becki**** : your wish is my command. I like Antoine very much, and I didn't create him to leave him to fade out in the story…**

**Yasei Raiden : You knew it? Well, if you already know the story, I don't have to  continue writing it anymore, I guess… Mwahahaha! Like I could stop!**

**KatLeBeau**** : I also had the feeling I was putting Louis aside, so I rectified the problem, centering on him for a few chapters… I'm also putting Rogue and Remy aside for a bit, but I swear they'll be back soon!**

**girlonthemOOn**** : Well no. If getting mutant powers was a piece of cake, that story would be very boring. And since it's me that's writing it, it had to be _very difficult, or else I wouldn't have posted it. I love it when things go wrong!_**

**Nessie**** : wow, that was short. Sorry it took so long…**

_Like in the movies_

He wasn't really paying attention to the movie, he was too excited to do so. He stared a bit at his gloved hands, hardly visible in the dark movie theatre, and turned his head to look at Lydia. She was sitting back in the comfy seat, a huge pop corn bag in her hand, and was slowly putting the corns in her mouth, eyes wide on the big screen. Her thick golden red hair seemed almost black in the light the screen provided, and she had let them loose tonight, the long locks going all the way down to her buttocks. A few shorter locks kept falling in her face and she blew them away unconsciously, too intent on the movie to notice Louis wasn't watching it at all. Her hand suddently stopped in mid-air, full of pop corn, and her mouth stood half open, and Louis looked at the screen. He didn't want Lydia to know he had been watching _her the whole time._

This was their second time out together. She had said yes when he had asked her out a week earlier, and the hard and uncessant teasing his dad was putting him through was worth the pleasure he had in Lydia's company. He looked at her again. What would happen? Nothing had until then, and nothing probably would until they could find a way to control his and his sister's killer powers. He smiled, remembering the face his father wore when he saw the hole in the wall. Addition of the charge, fusionning of the power, Henry had said. Together, when they touched the other's skin, Louis and his sister were very dangerous persons. He repressed a shudder, not knowing if it was of fear or excitement.

The movie ended, and Lydia grabbed his arm as he made his way out of the mass of people leaving the theatre. He took a deep breath outside, slowing his pace, and felt his heart melt when Lydia didn't let go of his arm, slightly leaning on him with a small sigh instead. It had rained and the air was cool and humid, with a light smell of worms getting out of the grass and the distant whooshing sound of tires on wet pavement. They began making their way to the bus station, chatting casualy about the movie.

"Is Henry working on the pill yet? Dad told me your mother's pills didn't work on you or Josée." She had said it casualy enough, keeping her eyes on her feet, but he could sense the seriousness in the question. He sighed deeply, rising his head to look at the stars above, barely visible over the city lights.

"No, it ain't working, but Henry's doing his best."

"Oh."

They walked in silence and reached the bus stop, and Lydia sat down on the wooden bench. She began talking, staring at the yellow line in the middle of the street, shinning wet on the pitch black pavement.

"I'm sure he'll find a way, Lou. He worked a lot on your mother's pill, and it's not like he has to go from step one, he already got the bases… Louis? What's wrong?" She had looked up to notice he wasn't listening to her anymore, but was glancing at the corner of the street, his green eyes narrowed under a light frown. He slowly drew back his hands ffrom his pockets, and balled them into fists. Lydia followed his look to see five men walking in their direction, talking loudly and shooting small glances in their direction. They were getting closer, and she noticed only two of them were talking, the three other walking behind them, hands in their pockets and looking everywhere. They all looked young enough; the oldest couldn't have been more than twenty-five, and the youngest looked like he was about Matthew's age. She got up, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and walked closer to Louis. Maybe they were just passers-by, but she didn't feel good about them. Like she could almost hear the bad intentions in their heads…

"Hey" said the oldest. The four others stopped dead in their tracks, all carefuly watching Louis. His muscles clenched, and he swallowed down the bulge of fear creeping up in his throat. No time for this.

"What do you want?" he said coldly, and was relieved to hear his voice didn't shake.

"We're not sure" said another boy, walking a step further in their direction. "We were told to pick you up." The bulge of fear returned with a vengeance, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. How the hell was he going to get out of this? 

"Oh? Well, I deeply appreciate the intention, but we had other ideas." Not taking any chances, he pulled off his gloves and let them fall on the ground.

"I'm not sure you have the choice" said the third boy, walking towards them. Louis heard Lydia's gasp when the boy pulled out a knife from his leather coat and leaped on Louis.

He acted on pure reflex, reaching for the arm holding the knife and twisting it until he heard the boy yell in pain. He had fought with his agile father for fun so often in his youth, he thought this was easy for a moment. The other boys began walking in their direction to help. Then something went wrong.

The boy's yell changed suddently, and the four others stopped. Louis felt the suddent burst of power leave his shoulder to go through the boy's body, and he screamed when he felt pure white pain seare in his hand. He tried to jerk his hand away from the boy's arm, but it was like holding on to a high voltage wire.

The boy went white and let out a moan before turning silent. His body jerked with a snap, the white orbs of his eyes turned red, and small streams of blood trickled down his nose, mouth and ears. Louis let go with a gasp, and watched, horror-stricken, as the limp body fell on the ground at his feet. Everyone was silent, and the four boys left were looking at him a new way.

"Well, you _are something, aren't you? That explains a lot…" said the oldest, obviously the leader._

"Let me take care of him." Louis snapped his head up to the unknown voice. The boy that had been standing behind his friends until then walked forward, and Louis froze.

"You don't want me to do that again!" _And I don't want it either_, he thought. He braced himself for fighting, concentrating. Grab something to charge… _I should carry stuff in my pockets… cards, like Dad?_

"You won't have to" the boy said in a cold voice.

"Don't get yourself killed, Aeros. The boss'll already be pissed off that one of us's killed…" The leader trailed off as the boy, obviously called Aeros, lifted his arm.

Paper flew around Louis, brushing his face, and he raised his arm to protect his face. The small wind ended as fast as it has begun, and Louis knew the fight wasn't going to be easy with a mutant that could fight away from hands reach. He lifted his head to look at his opponent, as his right hand fumbled blindly in his pocket for something to charge. His wallet? Well…

He hesitated a split second, but drew out the wallet, charged it and aimed for the boy's head. Aeros' eyes narrowed and he dunked, the wallet hitting one of the others in the chest, sending him flying a few meters away. Aeros stood up, a small smile on his lips. "_Mon Dieu_, you are getting really interesting!"

It was the French that startled him for a second, giving Aeros enough time to move. His arm flew up again, but this time the air around Louis didn't move.

But the air in his lungs did.

The oxygen left his lungs and he gasped, trying to get some air. He fell on his knees, inhaling franctically, but no air came through his mouth or nose, and the world quickly began to turn under his hands and knees, grand panic helping what the absence of oxygen in his lungs was already doing. He felt a hand on his shoulder, a feminine but panicked voice, and the sound of a crash, a dreadfull scream. _Lydia__…_

_I'm going to die._

Black spots twirled before his eyes, and he had the time to see gleaming purple eyes before he fell into unconsciousness.

**To be continued! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Oh and I didn't re-re-re-re-read this, I wanted to post it as soon as possible…**

**A/N : Oh, by the way, I saw a preview of the movie Antwan Fisher, and I have a feeling that "Antwan" is the English version of Antoine… It is pronounced quite the same, anyways.**


	10. Recognition

**Note**** : Ok, I know this one is short, but you reacted quite… hum… negatively (Is that a word?) to the last chapter and I had to make some things clear… Anyway, chapter 11 is on the way and almost finished already, so you shouldn't have to wait too long for more action.**

**Becki**** : Oh, please don't be upset! Don't be angry! Making people mad at me is _not my point here… But hey, be happy, everything always turns right after a few chapters, you know how it was in Through Time! Besides, they'll be more of Remy and Rogue in the following chapters, and some other X-Men too, so dry these tears, and calm down: you're going to like what's going to happen in the next chapters!_**

**Yumiko**** : Well, I can't really answer that question without giving my plot away, can't I? But you'll have your answer in this chapter…**

**Nessie**** : Ah, feelings… Your little finger can sometimes be a great friend…**

**Tammy**** : Glad you're still a loyal reader… I hope you'll like the following as well…**

**Ishandahalf**** : Well, Remy _had to tease Louis about his date, especially when you think it's _Scott_'s daughter he's dating. I liked the idea too… As for the plot, you're right : they just keep popping out in my head, forcing me into writing them down to make my characters suffer and cry and go through pain… I feel bad! I swear! But damn… It just keeps coming back! I put them in a cage though, and I'll make sure they don't come out of _this_ story. Just in case I have an urge of putting them in my next fluffy fic (which is on the way, I already have a few paragraphs done. I screwed the songfic. Pure fluff, I swear!)._**

**Talia458**** : Hum. These are interesting guesses, _I_ never would have thought myself of the Guilds… Well, you're wrong about it but… You're giving me some ideas… he he he.**

**Lucky439**** : You really think bubba will only be sad? I can think of a word that rhyms with sad and that qualifies best Remy's reaction…**

**Enjoy.**

_Recognition_

She could hear the voices. A woman talking to her, whispering gentle words. Her whole body ached, and she was afraid to open her eyes.

"Louis" she whispered, and struggled to sit up. Hands were on her shoulders in a moment, pushing her gently down on her back. Her chest hurt and her head began to turn, so she let the hands push her back down.

"Shhh, stay down, honey. The ambulance is coming."

There were voices behind, exclamation. A siren coming in their direction, and gentle and professionnal hands lifting her, laying her on a stretcher. The blinding light in the ambulance, the deaftening sound of the sirens in her pounding ears. The doctor, asking her her name, her parent's names, her phone number…

"Louis, oh my God, Louis…"

***

His lungs hurt. But when he tried inhaling some air in, they worked and filled with oxygen, his rib cage slowly stretching. He was sitting on a hard chair, but couldn't move his hands. He opened his eyes, slowly, to quickly close them back. It had to be a nightmare. 

"Open your eyes Louis. I did not have the time to see if they were your father's."

He opened them and stared at the tall dark man in front of him, repressing a deep shudder. Everything in the man was freaky, from his long black cape to the shinning fully red eyes in a marble white face. He had never saw him, but knew who he was. Behind him, all leaning on the wall, were four men, the same that had attacked him in the street, staring at him.

"Ah, rogue eyes, I see. Now, we'll see if your sister has the same, shall we mister LeBeau?" He turned to the young men and gestured to three of them. "You, come with me. Aeros, you stay here and keep an eye on him." He walked (though it looked more like he glided) to the door, followed by the three other men, and Louis recognized the guy who had knocked him down. His face was different, though. He had kept his face calm from the moment Louis had opened his eyes, but he now wore a startled expression of horror on his face, and was staring at Louis in bewilderment. The door closed, and Louis stared back at Aeros. He got tired of the game, though, and sighed.

"What do you want, a picture?" Aeros blinked twice, and shook his head. He walked a few steps, grabbed a chair and sat horse-like on it in front of Louis, resuming his staring. On the street, when he had used his powers, his eyes had glowed an eerie purple, but seen upclose, they were a deep violet-blue, with a hint of worry Louis didn't understand.

"LeBeau, that's your name? Louis LeBeau?" He asked, souding more like he would have wanted a 'no' as an answer. His English was perfect, but held a strange accent, a slight insistance on the vowels, and cutting the 't's. Louis started. It was the same French accent as his father's, but almost non-existent, and not as pronounced as Remy's.

"You heard it right" Louis answered coldly. Aeros sighed and drove his fingers through his shoulder-length jet-black hair. He stared at the floor at their feet for a few moments, and raised his head, his eyes plunging into Louis'.

"I didn't know."

"My name? Why the hell does it make a difference?"

"He told us where you were, and that we were to pick you up there, whether you wanted it or not, and bring you here unhurt. He never said your name." The end of the sentence came out in a whisper. "Please tell me your sister's name isn't Josée…"

Louis' heart stopped, and he hissed through his teeth. "You can't hurt her. She'll be with our parents and friends, you can't hurt her." Aeros shook his head vehemently.

"Why the hell would I want to hurt her? I…" he trailed off and inhaled sharply. "Your friends… you're talking about the X-Men, right?"

"Well, you should know, they're good 'friends' of Sinister's." Another shake of the head.

"Sinister won't tell me anything, I'm only an employee of some sort. The kind that can't resign." There was cold hatred in his voice, and Louis narrowed his eyes at him. 

"You sound like you don't like him very much." Aeros snorted.

"Well, he didn't look like that and didn't introduce himself as 'Mister Sinister' when I first met him. And the contract he made me sign didn't say he would kill me if I deserted" he spat.

"Then how did you hear about the X-Men? They don't do a lot of commercials on television." Aeros smiled.

"Nah, someone told me about Xavier's school for gifted."

"Who?"

Aeros stared at Louis, and narrowed his eyes, a small smile on his lips.

"You're not really in a position to ask questions."

"Or answer any. But a guy can try." 

Aeros looked at him for a long moment. He got up to put the chair back against the opposite wall and paced around, making small circles in the dark room. He stopped in front of Louis, and looked down at him. "You're a very perseverant person, it must run in the family blood." The said blood turned cold in Louis veins, and he looked up at Aeros, dreading what he would say next. "Your sister told me about the X-Men."

"Who are you?" Louis hissed. "How do you know my sister?" Aeros walked away and sat on the chair again, looking him in the eyes, and smiled, reaching out his hand as to shake Louis's.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Antoine."

To be continued!


	11. A happy family reunion

**Note**** : Yahoooo!! This is real fun, I've just finished chapter 11 and I'm all happy about what's going on in it… I'm really enjoying this as much as you! I can't wait to see what's happening next! **

**So you guessed! *slams her hand on her forehead*  Damned! I thought it wasn't obvious enough…**

**Yumiko and nessie**** : *wink* Can you guess what's coming next? You could tell me…**

**Ishandahalf**** :  I can't wait to see what's going to happen next either! Because you see, all that happened until now was already writen in my head, but now I _don't know what's going to happen next, and I've reached the point where I just write the ideas that pop up as I'm working in my pork transformation factory, wrapping european sausages all day long (but hell, it pays well, for a student job)… And a lot of ideas can pop up in a 8 hours shift! But hell if I know what I'll write tomorrow! I guess I'll work on the other one until I get this one fixed… *wink wink wink*_**

**Enjoy!**

_A happy family reunion_

Kill. That's what he'll do to the bastards.

He paced like a lion in a cage, eyes blazing.

They had managed to get Lydia out of the hospital and into Hank's med lab, where she was still sleeping, streaks of dried tears on her cheeks.

His jaw clenched so much it hurt.

He looked at his right, where Jean was staring at her daughter, clear eyes now dry, now that they knew Lydia was going to be okay. Scott was standing behind her, a look of taste for murder on his face as well. This had to be the first time Remy would see him loose his temper, and it was scary.

At his left sat Rogue and Josée, in each other's arms. Treasures to him. His girls.

But his son… It was something else. His heart pounded a little harder in his chest, and he resisted the envy of slamming his fist in the nearby wall. He snorted, thinking he probably would have done it, sixteen years before. Being a father changed a lot of things. 

But they had taken his son away.

All patience left his body, and he felt his inner self fill with pure white hate. He drew his fist quickly back, and brutaly slammed it in the wall. It landed with a loud crash and everybody started in the room, but nobody said anything. Rogue's head dropped down as she stared at the floor, not looking at him, and he pulled his bloody hand back from the newly done hole in the gyps wall, craddling it against his chest.

He didn't think he'd ever been so angry in his life.

***

His jaw fell open and stayed that way for a few moment, before he got his senses back, and his eyes blazed, the green depths showing golden gleams. Antoine dropped his hand down, and his smile faded, turning into a sorry expression.

"You're the bastard who left my sister!" The sorry expression faded as well, turning into fury. Antoine rose to his feet towering over Louis.

"Left her? I never would have done that if I had the choice! He" he gestured to the door through which Sinister had gone "had already made me sign. I couldn't leave before I got rid of my contract with him. But I would have come!" His voice broke and he let himself fall back on the chair, blazing purple eyes staring at Louis. "She didn't give me time to explain."

As much as Louis wanted to hate him, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to be the almighty protective brother right now, he had sympathy for the dark fellow on the other side of the room.

"Yeah, she does that sometimes. Dad says 'she got dat fr'y'mom.'" Antoine had a small laugh.

"What was that power you had on the street?"

"Charging powers. Kinda like our dad, except that we can do it on living things, by touching, and that we can't control that particular side of this marvelous power" he answered coldly. Antoine's face went blank.

"We?" Louis looked up at him.

"Yeah, we. Me and Josée."

"Oh." Louis stayed silent a long moment.

"What is he going to do with me?" Antoine shrugged, and shook his head. "You can't let me go, can you."

"If I could, knowing who you are… You'd me miles from here." He pointed at Louis wrists, which were bounded by invisible bounds, as were his ankles. "I can't untie your bounds, and the chair is stuck to the floor as well." He truly looked sorry, but nodded. "He won't kill you, he wouldn't bother letting you live now."

"That's reassuring."

"Yeah, well, that still doesn't tell me what's he got to do with you."

"He said he would see if Josée's eyes are the same as mine. You think she's after her as well?" He wasn't really worried, he knew Josée would be safe with the X-Men. They would be on their gard. He just hoped Lydia was alright. Antoine's head snapped up, though, and he got on his feet.

"Sinister's never after someone for no good reason. Do you or Josée have some particular power? A power that could be interesting for a man who wants to destroy everything?" Louis gulped.

"Well, yeah. But we have to be together."

"_Merde._" Though the word wasn't meant to do so, the French reassured Louis.

"My parents aren't going to let Sinister get Josée. And… and they'll get me out of here. Some way."

"I doubt they find you easily, we're a little bit far from New York."

"Where are we?"

"Antartica."

"Antartica? It must be freezing cold out there!"

"Bah. I'm used to it now." Antoine got up and took his leather coat on the floor, and put it on.

"Where are you going?" He looked up to Louis, and made a small smile.

"I have to warn them in some way. And there's a friend of mine I'd like to see again."

***

She couldn't sleep. She had talked to a worried Lilianne on the phone and gotten to bed early, but was unable to drift into pointless dreams. She was worried.

Worried for Louis, worried that they would hurt him. But in some way, she knew he was okay for now. If he was hurt or dead, she'd know it. She'd feel it, she knew.

She was worried for Antoine. No one knew where he was. He gave no news to his family, and they now were dreading the worse. Would he ever come back?

She turned in her bed again to meet Lydia's eyes, and screamed. Lydia promptly reached out to put her hand on her mouth, and put a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. "You're gonna wake everyone!"

"What are you doing here! You should be in the med lab!" Lydia pouted.

"I'm feeling okay, I was just knocked down… I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Me?" Josée wanted to laugh. "Sure, _I'm okay! Come in." She drew back the blankets and Lydia climbed in the bed, awkwardly settling next to her._

"I hope Louis is okay."

"He is. I'd feel it if they'd hurt him."

"Not if he's too far from you, you wouldn't."

"He can't be very far. It happened not 24 hours ago." Lydia barely nodded, and sighed. Josée closed her eyes, and let herself soothed by Lydia's breathing as she too fell to sleep.

She woke up in the middle of the night, hearing a little tapping sound coming from the window. Frowning, she walked to the window and drew appart the dark curtains. She gasped, and put her hands to her mouth.

"Oh my God, Antoine!" she whispered, and hastily opened the window. He slid in the room and turned to her with a smile.

"I missed you, Jo."

She couldn't talk, but she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed, carefuly not touching his skin, as his arms went around her waist, holding tight. Then she froze, and pushed him away.

"What the hell are you doing here? Where _were you? Everyone is dead __worried for you!" His smile faded, and he opened his mouth to answer, but was cut short by a startled gasp coming from the bed, followed by a scream as he turned towards Lydia and she recognized him as one of her attackers._

"Oh my God, it's _you_! Uncle Remy! HELP!" she yelled. Josée watched her in bewilderment.

"Lydia? What's wrong? It's…"

"UNCLE REMY!" They could now hear footsteps and voices from the other side of the house, and Antoine flinched uncomfortably. This was bad. But he would give explanation, and…

"Please, girl, I'm not here to hurt anyon…"

The door slammed open to reveal a very unhappy Remy, eyes blazing like fire. Antoine took a step back, bracing himself. Would he have time for explanation?

**To be continued!**


	12. Just try not bringing the house down

**Woohoo! Sorry that took a lot of time, but I was working on "Laissez les bons temps rouler" these last days, and was suffering of a pretty bad case of writer's block lately… The last chapter is on the way, pleaaaaase be patient!**

**Yasei Raiden : Well, I don't really have the intention of making Antoine piss his pants, neither of making Remy kill Antoine with bare hands, though I've always imagined him as an over-protective father… Things will turn out right… promise.**

**Nessie6 : oh oh, fellow sadistic friend. It seems I'm not the only one who likes seeing Remy and Rogue tortured. As long as it ends well…**

**KatLeBeau : Cute hein? Like I said to Yasei Raiden, I've always imagined Remy as a good, but protective father. And I have no difficulty imagining he's willing to go to extremes to save his son and daughter.**

**Tammy : Yeah, I'm afraid we haven't seen a lot of Rogue lately… This _is_ more about her kids than her, in fact.**

**Talia458 : Now why would I want to hurt Antoine? Na na na, the X-Men have always been kind enough to ask questions _before smacking anyone's butt, so I trust they will do the same with Antoine. Now, as for Remy…_**

**Becki : Glad you're not mad at me! I would hate to make my reviewers mad. Reviews are what you write for…**

**Lucky439 : Again, there it is. Sorry it took so long.**

**ishandahalf : Well, I've been working a lot on "Let the good times roll" lately, and almost forgot about that chapter I had almost finished… And I wouldn't want to be any near a murderous over-protective fatherly Remy too. Especially if the murderous rage is directed to me.**

**SanguineNocturne : Thanks a lot! As for the fairy tale ending… I can only hope! I never know what I'll be writing in the next chapter…**

**Enjoy!**

_Just try not bringing the house down_

The moment he saw the burning angry eyes on him, he felt ridiculous. The man in front of him might have been more than forty years old, but he was in top shape and agile, Antoine knew, and probably more than himself. He stood a few inches over Antoine and was broader in the shoulders than him. More than anything else, Antoine had in front of him a mutant in perfect control of incredible powers, powers he had had for more than twenty years. Remy _was a terrifying mutant, at least from Antoine's point of view, and his three little years of knowing his powers seemed ridiculous when confronted to Remy's hard training and experience in hand to hand combat._

He stood no chance against him, but he had to try. A card appeared in Remy's hand and began to glow, and Antoine took a step back, raising his hands in front of him in some kind of defense.

"I…"

The card hit him straight in the chest, and his feet left the ground as he flew back to hit the wall.

"Didn't use full power, boy. Wouldn't want to damage m'house, _non?" Coughing, Antoine sat up and raised his head to look at him. Remy had another card in hand, though he hadn't charged it yet._

"Papa! Please stop!" Josée put a hand on her father's arm, but he rudely shoved it away from her grip, glaring at her.

"What d'y'mean, stop? He enters de house in de middle o'de night and tries to kidnap ye…"

"Kidnap me?" She looked dumbfounded for a few moments, then started to laugh. "Dad! It's Antoine!"

"Why should I care about his name?"

"Antoine?" Lydia had recognized the name Josée had talked to her about, and she was looking at him with growing anger in her eyes. "Why!? You're Aeros! The one who attacked us in the street! You're the one that hurt Louis!"

"What?" Josée met Antoine's eyes, and her own moss green eyes narrowed. "Is that true?" Antoine sighed. Remy was standing by her, also waiting for his answer. Antoine dropped his arms to his sides, and cocked his head to the side.

"I… I did not know it was your brother." The card began to glow in Remy's hand.

"Wrong answer, boy" Remy said in a dark voice. Antoine felt a wave of frustration coming inside of him, and his eyes glowed purple. Remy frowned, but did not move back.

"_Merde, I've had it! Let me talk before trying to kill me!" He raised his hand and a hard draft of air flew in the room, raising sheets of paper from the desk. Remy squinted his eyes as his hair blew in his face, but still didn't move. Antoine thought he saw a flicker of appreciation in the red eyes, though, and his courage crept a bit higher. "Louis's not hurt! And I had to do it!"_

"Why?" Remy sounded challenging, and Antoine felt himself boiling inside.

"Sinister would've killed me if I hadn't" he snapped, his voice cold.

Josée's mouth opened without a sound coming out, and a dark red color rose to her cheeks. "You're working for Sinister?" she hissed, but turned on her heels and left the room without letting him time to answer. Lydia ran out after her, and he stood alone with Remy in the dark room.

"Aren't y'gonna answer de question?" he asked, sounding calm all of a sudden.

"I'm forced to work for Sinister. Now I'm in it up to my neck." Remy nodded, closing his eyes, and turned to the door.

"_Suis-moi."* It wasn't meant in a reassuring tone, but Antoine smiled despite himself. He hadn't heard French in a long time._

***

Josée had taken refuge in Louis' bedroom, and sat on the empty bed. The place was a mess, and she made a sad smile. She had so often came here to chat and laugh with her brother, and the mess felt reassuring. There was a gentle knock on the door, but she stayed silent.

"Sugah?" The door opened and Rogue popped her head in. "Can Ah come in, honey?" Josée shrugged.

"It's not _my room."_

She heard her mother coming in and gently close the door. Soon her arms came around her chest and she felt the heat of her body against her back. Motherly magic : she leaned her head back on her mother's shoulder, and began to cry. "Louis never liked him when I talked about him…"

"Louis' never met him."

"Yes, he did now."

"Sugah, it's not because your Antoine's working foh Sinister that yah have ta think he's a bad man. Sinister's a tricky villain, yah know…" Josée broke free of her embrace, and turned around to meet her eyes.

"What do you mean?"** Rogue didn't answer and stared into her eyes. She looked like she was making some kind of decision, but suddently shook her head.

"Believe me, honey. Sinister can trick tha best of men in doing tha worse of things."

***

He looked miserable, Remy had to admit. The young man had followed him into the mansion, and had waited as he woke up the inhabitants of the house. He now sat in a couch, his head in his hands, and looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than here. Remy saw him shiver and straighten up, and he met his eyes. He looked miserable enough, but the boy had guts. He repressed a chuckle.

"How d'ye met Sinister?" Antoine rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed, and leaned back in the couch.

"This spring. I couldn't hide the fact that I had problems with my powers anymore, and he appeared out of nowhere, saying he could help me. I wasn't in a situation in which I had much choice…"

"Yeah, he does dat." Antoine looked back at him, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Remy shook his head. He hadn't told his son and daughter about Sinister, he certainly wasn't going to tell this guy…

"We've known Mr. Sinister for a long time." Both men turned their head towards the door, where a woman had talked. She looked outstanding, with hair as white as snow, and eyes a clear blue.

"Ororo," Remy said, and gestured towards the boy on the couch. "This is Antoine, Josée's… friend." Ororo smiled.

"Denial is a bad habit, Gambit. I've always hoped you would get rid of it with years passing." Remy glared at her, but his mouth twiched upwards. Ororo stood in front of the couch, and Antoine got up to shake her hand. Remy smiled when surprise crossed his features. Storm was a tall woman, and she towered most men. She didn't tower Antoine, though, and the look of surprise left his face to be replaced by a more serious one. "I believe, Antoine, that you have most important information on how to get back my godson."

"I have. I know where he is."

*Follow me.

** Bear in mind that Louis and Josée maybe don't know a lot about their father's past… Well maybe the Thieves Guild part, since they're family to Remy, but my guess is that Rogue and Remy, nor any other X-Men, would ever tell them about the Sinister/Morlock/Antartica thing…


	13. When it rains

**Hey gang, I'm back. I'm not in my best of moods, so "Laissez" will still have to wait a while. I felt like a bit of angst and bad events turning out, though, so I went on with "Sixteen"… So here it is, friends, chapter 13. Finaly! Darn, I'm really slow with this story, am I? Oh and I wanted to post up asap, so I didn't really check-read it. Sorry for mistakes that might pop up, I'll correct those later. Now, I'm heading to bed.**

_When it rains…_

I looked again at the young man sitting next to me in the Blackbird and repressed a smile. Nearly as tall as Remy and Scott, Antoine (or Aeros, whatever) was startingly handsome, with chin-length, straight ebony black hair that made hard contrast with his deep blue, almost purple eyes. I had to admit my daughter had nice tastes, and probably took them from me. I chuckled to myself, and Remy looked at me from his seat in front of me, and I waved to him with a small smile. I looked back at Antoine, and had to admit he probably didn't look at his best, though. He had been surprised with a warm welcome from most of the X-Men, with the exception of Wolverine, of course, who had proven to be a jerk with the young man, unsheating his claws and brushing Antoine's throat with a warm 'you touch the kids and I kill ya, bub'. Well, that was as close as warm we would get with Logan.

I sighed, the general atmosphere in the Blackbird heavy on my shoulders. Everyone was nervous about heading back to Antartica, where Antoine had told us Sinister was hiding, and keeping Louis captive. We were fairly sure Louis was unhurt, he and Josée being physicaly connected, and them being able to feel the other's pain. But I was still worried about what was going to happen. And Remy was worried too, no wonder why. To go back to Antartica was bugging him, of course, but I knew he was more than afraid that Louis and Josée could learn more about his past. About his mistakes that had almost cost his life, and the truth about his true father he was more than willing to relinquish in the dark parts of his memory.

We travelled in silence until the Blackbird landed in the deep white snow. We all got off the jet, squinting our eyes against the bright sun flashing on the iced surface. I looked around, watching my friends' reaction to being back in Antartica. Wolverine was sniffing the air around, Jean was hugging herself against the cold wind, as were Ororo and Nightcrawler. The Beast and I were waiting for Cyclope to come off the plane, followed by Antoine and Josée. I sighed when I saw her. We haven't wanted her to get on the mission, but that girl was as stubborn as her father. The father in question was standing in the deep snow next to me, his trench coat flapping against his legs in the cold wind, his face carefully kept blank. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes, a brief flash of red, then turned his head towards Antoine.

"Where's de place?" he snapped, though maybe just because of the bitting cold. No wonder he was uncomfortable in this place, and I felt a pang of guilt again, one I hadn't felt in a long time. Antoine looked around, and shook his head.

"Wait a second." He lifted his arms and his eyes glowed an eerie purple, and the wind blew hard around him. A cloud of purple fog twirled around him, and his feet left the ground as the air around him lifted him in the air. My jaw dropped, and I heard Storm's voice behind me.

"He can fly?"

"I knew he could. He took my advice." I looked at my left to see Josée, watching Antoine who was already coming back down. I swear I saw a smile on her lips, but maybe she was just grimacing as the cold wind blew in her face. Antoine landed softly in front of us, and pointed east.

"It's over there, about three kilometers _à l'est._"

"Good" said Cyclope. "We can get there by flying. How many can you take with you, Aeros?" I noticed the code name, and smiled.

"As many as I can lift up by moving the air around…" Antoine half shrugged. "I've never really tried… three or four, _je crois_."

"Okay then you take Josée, Nightcrawler and Gambit with you. Rogue, you take the Beast and Wolverine. Jean and I will go with Storm." I nodded and grabbed on Beast and Wolverine's arms, taking off.

~~

He watched in amazement as a thick purple fog surrounded him, Josée, Nightcrawler and Antoine. His feet left the ground, and he could feel the air in constant movement around him, the wind drumming in his ears, lifting his weight as Antoine squinted his purple glowing eyes, concentrating on lifting them higher. It wasn't as comfortable as a ride with Rogue, but he felt the power the young man was using, lifting people in the air without even having to hold on to them, and looked at him in appreciation. He turned his head to the left and saw a small building, snuggled between two snow dunes. He narrowed his eyes, the red irises glowing slightly. Sinister wanted to kidnap his son? He had news for him.

**

The landing was smoother than he expected, and they arrived a second before Rogue. Antoine swayed and landed on his knees next to him, and he leaned down, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "_Ça va_, Aeros?" Antoine looked up, and nodded, grabbing his arm to get up. Once on his feet, he swayed again, but closed his eyes and got his balance back. Antoine opened his eyes, and made him a small smile.

"_Je vais bien, merci. That was kinda hard."_

The others arrived shortly, and they all turned to the metal door in front of them. But Cyclope didn't look like one to loose some time, and blasted the door opened. Antoine looked at him warily.

"I could have opened the door, you know. I know the codes." Jean turned to him.

"Or maybe not. Sinister surely noticed your absence by now." Antoine opened his mouth to answer, but didn't say anything. Remy looked back at the gaping hole in the door front of him. Of course Sinister would have noticed the boy's dissapearance. But he knew how Sinister dealed with deserters, and he guessed Antoine knew about it too. 

"We'll split in two teams" said Cyclope. "Aeros, since you know where to find Louis, you'll go with Rogue, Gambit, Josée and Storm. Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Jean and Beast, come with me." His brow drew together over the visor, and his fists balled. "We're going Sinister hunting."

~~

We followed Antoine in the dark corridors. I couldn't see further than my nose here, but I held on to Remy's arm, as did Josée and Ororo on his other side. He had great night vision, and I knew he could see and feel everything around him. As for Antoine, he seemed to know his way around, carefuly avoiding the surveillance cameras and quickly making his way through the building. He stopped suddently in front of a door, though, and turned to us. "It's here" he said, and glued his ear to the door. "There's no sound, maybe they've moved him somewhere else…"

"Stand aside, den." Remy moved to the door, and put his hand on the doorknob. "Could it be locked?" Antoine shook his head, and Remy opened the door. We all flatened against the wall, waiting for something to explode or someone to jump at our throats, but nothing happened. I was the first to make a few steps, and carefuly enter the room. I gasped, surprised, but then let out a sigh of relief.

Louis was there, sitting on a chair, his hands ans ankles tied up by some invisible bounds. His head was tilted to the side and his eyes were closed, his longs brown locks shading his face. I walked to him and kneeled down next to the chair, which seemed to be grown out of the floor itself, and gently pushed away the hair from his face with my gloved hand. There was a bruise on his left temple, already healing well, but otherwise he looked undamaged. His eyes slowly opened, then went wide as saucers as he recognized me. I smiled, a little shakingly. "Yah feelin' okay, sugah?" He nodded, and swallowed hard.

"Yeah" he croaked. "I'm really glad you weren't lying, Aeros" he continued, looking up at Antoine. "I was beginning to wondering when you'd find me." Antoine smiled, but didn't have time to answer.

"Can'y untie him?" Remy asked Antoine. The boy shook his head.

"It's Sinister's mind that's holding him. The only way to untie Louis is to break Sinister's grip on him."

The moment he said that, the bounds flashed red for a few seconds, then became invisible again. 

"What just happened?" Ororo asked.

"Sinister almost released him" Antoine said. "Something must have happened." Remy smiled devilishly, and turned to the door.

"Cykes must ha'found him."

**

We ran back through the dark halls, trying to get any signs of comotion. Remy was trying to get to Jean with his small telepathic abilities, but she wasn't responding. "What do yah think it means?" I asked him, a bad feeling in my chest. He shook his head, still running.

"Nothin'. Dere's probably a device of some sort dat prevents telepathic communication. It would be too easy. _Attention!_" He stopped dead in his tracks, and grabbed my arm. Caught in the momentum, I felt my arm jerk in his hand, but he held on tight and I fell back, just in time to see a fist slamming in the wall beside me, instead of my face. The lights turned on, and four young men were standing in front of us. Remy snorted.

"Dat's what's left o'de Marauders? Four kids?" One of the young men walked forward, staring at Antoine.

"You traitor! You left, and put your alegeance with the ennemy?" He smiled. "I'm going to enjoy what Sinister's going to do to you."

"Sinister's ain't hurtin' anyone while I'm here" Remy groaned. "You better show us where he is." The young man laughed.

"You think you're frightening, Gambit? Or maybe you prefer being called Remington, no? Since it's your real name." I snapped my head at Remy, who now had his poker face back on. His face was carefuly kept blank, but his eyes were burning in fury.

"Shut up" he hissed in a cold voice.

"Remington?" asked Josée in a small voice. "That doesn't sound like a French name…"

"That's because it's English, dear child" said a deep, cold and thickly English accented voice behind us. I shivered and turned on my heels, meeting red glowing eyes and thin, dark lips, slowly streching in a devilish smile.

**To be continued!**

**nessie : Oh, I love Remy torture too, and I can't wait for the next chapter, it's going to be sooo bad. I think you can guess that from the end of this one… Oh, and a thousand thanks for referring me to "Giddy". I also read "Love of my Life", and these had to be some of the best Romy's I've read in a long time. Thanks again!**

**ishandahalf : Oh, okay, so this wasn't really the last chapter, and the next one probably wont be either. Still, it IS longer than the last one… I think I can find a way to put some fluff in that one too, but not right now. Fluff is not on my priorities list these days, sorry.**

**Tammy : I wish I could update faster with this story, but I'm having trouble with my action scenes. It actually makes me very nervous…**

**KatLeBeau : Well, from the end of the chapter, I think Remy will have some explaining to do, or maybe someone else will do it for him… Will Remy's past with Sinister stay a secret for his kids very long? Mmmmph…**

**Lucky439 : Sorry I don't update often… I hope this will make you a little patient, while I work things up in the next chapter…**

**Becki : Oh, don't be worried… I've just been suffering from the writer's block lately, and had some bad events in my personnal life these last days… But I'm trying to get closer to my computer right now, at least as much as I can before the semester begins…**

**Yasei Raiden : Okay, I can tell by that review that you're dissapointed… Sorry about the last very short chapter… More coming soon, of course.`**

**Talia458 : Well yeah, I also think Antoine should have gone with Josée, it would have saved him lots of trouble. But understand that he's young and was afraid of his powers, and Sinister appeared to him as a man who could help him… The mistakes you make in life are what you learn from though, and I think Antoine might learn a lot in this.**

**Foofighta : I'm so glad you reviewed my stories! Yes, Josée is a lot different from your Aimée, but the twins were lucky enough to have both their parents by their sides while they grew up, unlike Aimée, who grew up without her father, and with her mother's angst about her drowned relationship with Gambit. I wanted Louis to ressemble Remy, and you pointed out the fact that his childhood was easy, unlike Remy's. As for their powers coming out at 16, I'll say that puberty starts around 12 or 13, but it can last until 16-17 years old… Yeah, they got them late, I know, and the twin explanation fits me right. Oh, and I like Antoine a lot too. I actualy based his physical appearance on one of my ex's *drool*, but I made _him intelligent. LOL! Oh, and have fun with "Laissez les bons temps rouler"… I love this story too, and I hope I'll get the final chapter up soon *sigh*…_**


	14. Images from the past

_Quand les hommes vivront d'amour, il n'y aura plus de misère… Les soldats seront troubadours, mais nous, nous serons morts, mon frère…("Quand les hommes vivront d'amour", Raymond Lévesque,1956)_

_In memory of those who died trying to save others, two years ago. Not only americans hearts are with you, but also your allies'. Know that you will always be considered as heroes._

**Disclaimer : Wow, I haven't wrote a disclaimer in a long time… I usualy don't, since I think it's rather… useless to say these characters are Marvel's. It's obvious they're not mine, or I wouldn't put them on the net for free reading… Well, Josée, Louis, Antoine, ****Lilliane**, ******Lydia****, Matthew, Fame and Falcony (well, that makes a lot of original characters, doesn't it? Yay for me! Yay!) are really mine, but this disclaimer is about Prudence, which is one of Sinister's Marauders, but also foofighta's creation. What? *jaw falls to the floor* you haven't read her stories yet? *put her hands on her hips and clicks her tongue in dissapointment*. Well, 'Reborn', 'La Fille' and 'L'homme de la Mort' are really great, you don't want to miss these stories who really don't get the attention and reviews they should. Go on! Read this chapter first (of course), and then on to her stories! Go, go!**

**Once again, sorry for any mistakes… I soooooo wanted this to get on the net as fast as humanly possible!**

**Enjoy!**

Josée watched her father from the corner of her eye as his eyes began to glow an eerie red, then her heart stopped as she noticed the strange ressemblance with Sinister's. Remington? English? As in… from England? Sinister saw her looking at her father, and talked some more.

"Dear Josée, it doesn't seem you know a lot about your father, dear child."

"Shut up, Essex." Sinister raised his brows at Remy, who took a menacing step towards him, and in front of Josée. "She don't need t'be included in dis. Dis' between you and I."

"You really think so, Remington? I rather think she should be informed of who her father really is."

"Was." Rogue took a step forward, eyes narrowed in anger. "We good guys put the past where it belongs. _Behind_ us."

Sinister smiled. "Prue, please, show Josée what's inside her father's head." One of the Marauders walked from behind him and let the cap of her cloak fall in her back. She couldn't be more than in her mid-twenties, but she looked like she was made of stone. Her long, blonde hair was tied up high on her head, and her large, stone cold blue eyes were set on Remy. He chuckled.

"She can' get through m'psychic shield, Essex. Forget it." Prue levitated and glided to face Remy.

"I can, if you're not conscious." He didn't even have the time to blink before she drew back a fist and aimed it at his chin, smashing it in his face at incredible speed. He fell back, a little more than stunned, and the girl took hold of that moment to enter his brain. Remy yelled and rolled up in a ball on the floor.

It wasn't long after, that Josée felt her mind black out.

Then the images came.

The smell of sewers and blood, and she watched in horror her father leading a band of mutants in the Morlocks tunnels, and saw them mutilate, kill and torture the poor peaceful mutants… A feeling of dreading cold on her skin, snow twirling around her face, as she saw her father standing shirtless in the deep snow, a look of despair on his face as Rogue flew away, abandonning him to his death. Words, echoing in her head as she brought her hands to her temples, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to push away the cold woman's voice, a voice full of hatred she knew was the one of her mother… 

You're _honest with the people you love, Gambit. Otherwise…_

… it's a gamble.

~~

He blinked three or four times before realizing he was kneeling on the floor. Images. Only images. All these were part of the past, now, a past he didn't even want to consider his. Once again, like he did when the images came haunting his dreams, he would just push them in a dark corner of his brain and forget about them until they came haunting him again, filling him with guilt… Could he, this time?

He snapped his head up, looking at Josée. She was kneeling as well, but slowly shaking her head as she came back into consciousness. Rogue was crouched next to her, rubbing her back and saying soothing motherly words, but Remy was frozen, waiting for Josée to lift her head. He knew she had seen these images, she knew about him. About his past, his dark past with Sinister, his mistakes… She lifted her head, and looked at him.

Since her and Louis were born, it has been a collective decision to keep the twins and the Summer kids in the dark about Sinister. Remy had been through enough when gaining pardon from the X-Men, they had all decided to keep that particular part of his past from his children. He had thought at first that it was for their own good. He knew now that it was for his.

He still remembered the look of fury and anger in Rogue's wonderful green eyes when she had left him in Antartica, many years ago. He could still feel, in his worse nightmares, the disgust and rejection in all her being as she dropped him in the snow.

He could feel it, see it right now, but it wasn't a dream this time. It wasn't Rogue's eyes neither, but when Josée's eyes connected with his, disgust of him written plainly on her face, his heart rose to his throat. She now knew. And she now hated him for what she knew, as Rogue did years ago. He almost moaned when he realized it wouldn't be long before Louis knew it as well.

He saw an arm in front of him, and looked up. He sighed, and took Antoine's arm, who helped him up. Rogue was doing the same with Josée, who kept looking away from Remy. Ororo cleared her throat, looking sheepish. "Gambit, they left… We should go help Cyclops and the others, don't you think?" His head was spinning. His daughter, his own daughter, hated him? He looked at her, searching her eyes, but she was carefuly avoiding his, biting her lip. He sighed.

"Yeah, we should."

"I'll stay with Louis, to make sure nobody comes here." He turned his head to look at his daughter, and she looked at him, her green eyes cold. She glared at him, and he looked away, his heart broken in half.

"I t'ink it's better dat way… Rogue, Storm, Aeros and I will go help de others."

~~

I pushed away my broken heart to concentrate on the task at hand. We followed the sounds of fighting to find them all in the main laboratory. Sinister was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Cyclops. Which left Jean, Wolverine, Beast, Nightcrawler and us, against three Marauders*. It sounded easy. But Hank had said once that as time goes by, new mutants were getting more and more powerful… Guess he was right.

I recognized the blonde girl to be Prue. She was freaky looking, her eyes unhumanly cold, long bone claws coming out of her wrists. She levitated and seemed to be telekinetic as well, and I shivered. Another one was a metamorph, and changed into a huge white falcon as big as Beast. The third one looked normal enough, a black man with entirely white eyes, but could produce energy balls the size of my car in a matter of seconds from his bare hands. Together, they formed a terrifying team, and were giving the X-Men a hard time. "Fame." I turned my head to see Antoine's face darkened. I looked in the same direction as his to see the black Marauder turn his head to Antoine and smile devilishly. He dodged a blow from the Beast to ran at the speed of light in our direction. Antoine raised his hands to bring air molecules to form a shield around us as Fame thew us an gigantic energy ball. "You traitor!" he yelled at Antoine. "But thanks to you, I'm finaly the new leader now!" The firery ball exploded against Antoine's shield, and Antoine flinched under the pressure. I left the ground and flew up to charge down on Fame, but I caught Prue's attention.

I heard her yell to the white man-bird. "Falcony! The power annihilating tank!" The man instantly turned into his bird form, leaving the ground and flying right to me. I turned to meet him and fight, but he didn't slow down, crashing in me and sending us both flying right in the big water tank. I felt the weight of the bird leave my chest, but I didn't regain my balance fast enough to fly away, and fell in the tank.

The water was cold as ice. I think my heart stopped beating for a few seconds as the freezing water soaked my uniform like a bad wetsuit, and I felt my body  temperature drop a few degrees. Then my brain knocked at the door of my conscience, and told me I should find a way to breathe again. I swam to the top of the tank to pop my head out and get out of this frozen pool, but somehow the lid had been shut. I put my hands flat on the glass and pushed. Nothing. I drew my fists back and slammed them on the glass lid. It didn't budge. My powers were turned off by the solution in the water. Sinister probably didn't know it was as irritant as chlorure for the eyes as well, and my eyes stung like crazy.

My head was spinning. I needed air. A low feeling of panic was slowly making it's way in my chest, and I banged even harder on the glass lid.

I couldn't yell, or call for held. Through my aquarium window, I could see them fighting against the young Marauders. I could see Remy, flaming cards in his hands, teaming with Wolverine to get the monstruous young blonde girl. I couldn't see Nightcrawler, who could have ported me out of here.

I felt like my chest was tearing in half. My lungs were sucking in, trying to get in some oxygen. I fought them, but my whole body shook and hurt with each spasm.

My banging on the glass wasn't getting anyone's attention. My vision was blurring, and my hits weren't more than useless taps. I couldn't even hear them : only a permanent thunder growling in my ears. Another spasm shook my body as my lungs tried another desperate attempt to bring in some air. I gave in, and opened my mouth.

The feeling of freezing water filling my lungs brought me in a state of pure panic.

I began banging on the glass again with the strenght of despair as I coughed and panicked as water filled my chest, poisonning my lungs.

Remy.

Please. Help me.

Sugah…

I saw him turn his head in my direction, but didn't see more.

I closed my eyes. It was much less painful that way.

~~

Fame's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted, his lungs empty, and his body fell to the ground. Antoine sighed. Finaly. He walked to where Remy was helping Rogue, and fell on his knees next to Rogue's body. "What happened?"

"She almost drowned" Remy answered, his voice broken. "I got her out and got the water out of her lungs, but she ain't breathin', I can't…" Antoine reached out a hand to Rogue's throat.

"Is her heart beating? Isn't she supposed to be invulnerable?" Remy put his hand on Antoine's wrist, stopping it.

"_Nearly invulnerable. She still needs to breathe." Remy's voice was hoarse with despair. Antoine tried to reach Rogue throat again, but Remy held on to his hand, almost yanking at it. "Don't touch her!" Antoine looked up at him._

"But I know CPR, Gambit. I can help."

"Ye'll go as far as chest compression with her, Aeros. But touch her skin, and ye're out fo'days." Remy was desperate. He could feel Rogue's heart beating under his hand on her chest, but it was slowing down, and there was nothing he could do to bring air in her lungs. He couldn't dare put his lips on hers; he knew he wouldn't have enough time to push some air through her mouth before her powers kicked in, and he would pass out right next to her dying body. She hadn't drowned in the water tank, but she was in the process of dying right in front of him. Tears stung his eyes, and he smashed his fist on the ground with a frustrated cry. "Dere's not'in' we can do!" He was surprised to feel a hand on his arm, and looked up to Antoine's purple glowing eyes.

"Of course there is. Your hands are gloved, tilt her head back." Was that boy crazy? He knew no mutant who could be invulnerable to Rogue's powers, but he bent down and gently tilted Rogue's head back. He looked back up to see Antoine's fist closing, and opening again, sending small wisps of purple mist flying into Rogue's half open mouth.  Remy barely had time to register the fact that the boy had incredible control over his power, but Rogue's chest raising under his hand took his mind away from that fact for the moment. Antoine repeated the gesture, and Rogue's chest raised again. Soon enough, Rogue coughed and turned on her side, gasping and spiting water. Remy rubbed her back, murmuring gentle senseless words, until she stopped coughing and got her breath back. She raised on hands and knees, her long, wet hair hiding her face, and slowly turned her head at her husband, who smiled.

"Welcome to de world o'de livin', _chérie_. Never scare me like dat again."

"Wha… what happened?" She sat on her heels, brushing her hair out of her face, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ah don't mean to be rude, but Ah feel lahke Ah'm supposed to be dead raght now." Remy reached out and gently brushed her face with a gloved hand, tucking a white wet lock behind her ear.

"Y'almost drowned in de power-annilihilating tank and your power were turned off, y'couldn't break de glass… I fished'y in and got de water out'o yo'lungs, but Aeros' de only one who could make'y breath again." His face darkened, and he pulled her in his arms. "Never do dat again, Rogue."

"Ah'll try."

Antoine got on his feet, his eyes looking around them. Fame was lying on the floor, lifeless, and Falcony was fighting against Beast. Helped by Nightcrawler and Jean, though, the blue Beast was finaly able to pin the gigantic white bird on the ground and knock it unconscious. Prue's body was at the other end of the room, but Antoine could swear he saw the blonde girl stir.

His attention was taken elsewhere though, when a red blast dig a hole in a wall, and Sinister flew across the room to land roughly on the floor, a few feet away from Antoine. He quickly got on his feet, though, and glared at the hole in the wall, where Cyclops could be seen standing, one of his hand already reaching for the side of his visor. Antoine slowly walked backwards to stay out of the way, but he caught Sinister's attention. Red eyes turned to look at him, and Antoine froze in a fighting stance, ready to fight whatever Sinister was going to throw at him.

"Aeros, to think I gave you the honnor of working for me… Dear Aeros, such a waste of wonderful powers, but I cannot bear knowing I let a traitor live."

Antoine froze at his words, and he barely heard Jean's call of warning before Sinister raised both his hands, and sent him a full force energy blast. It hurt, exploding in his chest, and he vaguely noticed his feet had left the ground half a second before his body smashed in the wall behind him. He heard a snapping sound in his neck, felt a cold sensation invading his body. Then there was nothing else. 

~~

Louis looked again at his sister. She had been silent the whole time their parents were gone, and he didn't like the way she kept her eyes down. They heard a big crash down the hall, though, and Josée got up on her feet. The bounds flashed again on Louis' wrists and ankles, before dissapearing for good with a snap and a flash of light. He stretched his arms to his sides and stood up.

"Do you think they got him?"

"I don't think it's possible to _get_ Sinister, Lou. But I think he's been hurt enough to release his hold on you. Let's go help them." Josée frowned as they ran to the door. 

"I hope everyone's okay."

~~

Remy watched with horror as Antoine's limp body smashed straight into the cement wall, raising a cloud of dust over his fallen body. He barely saw Cyclops shooting blasts at a runaway Sinister as he ran to the boy's limp form on the ground, Rogue following him. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Antoine, though, and slowly walked the last steps, falling on his knees next to the boy.

He was lying on his back, covered in cement dust, his arms and legs stretched in a star-like position, his palms open to the sky. There was a large black patch on his burnt chest where Sinister's blast had hit him. But what made Remy moan and close his eyes, reaching for Antoine's face, was the anormal angle of his neck, and the absence of purple glow in the dark blue, lifeless open eyes. Open eyes Remy closed with a shaking hand as Josée and Louis entered the lab, stopping dead in their tracks when they saw the scene in front of them.

**Ahem. Please don't hunt me down… **

_*I know I said in the last chapter that they were four, but I counted again. When they met Louis and __Lydia__ in the street, they were five, counting Aeros… But Aeros left the Marauders to alert the X-Men, and Louis killed one of the Marauders when he got captured. Now, I really suck in maths (you couldn't imagine. I'm a French and History teacher, not maths…), but that would bring the number of Marauders down to three… Sorry for my miscalculating (darn, I only needed one hand to count this, and I still screwed up… *giggle*)_

**Now, about your reviews…**

**Tammy : I like Rogue's POV as well, and I tried putting some more in this one. Hope you like the chapter as much as the others…**

**Nessie6 : Oh, you're almost as cruel as I am. Or not, considering I just killed Antoine. *sigh* You're the one who wanted torture, so let's see how Josée reacts to her father being an ex-Marauder, and her boyfriend (?) being killed. *evil laugh* Talk about some angst!**

**ishandahalf : well, that was kinda depressing, especially after working so hard on the last chapter of "Laissez". I have to remind you that the fluff story is finished, and that "Sixteen" is all about angst… Okay, Louis doesn't know about his father's past yet, and probably will, soon enough, and now Josée is mad at Remy. Mua haha ha ha ha! I'm so bad! Ah, come on, you know me! I'm _never_ going to make it easy for our favorite Cajun! Now, I just have to find a way for Antoine's family to find out about what happened…**

**Warmer Than Fire : Okay, Josée found out about her father, and reacts badly. Are you still looking forward for the next chapter? *devilish grin* I love being cruel!**

**KatLeBeau : I find it funny how you ask so many question I cannot answer, since they've already been answered while you read the chapter. Keep reading! This is going to be very interesting.**

**VA-river-gal : On the edge of your seat? *evil laugh* tell me when you fall down. THEN I'll know I've written something fantastic… *giggle* Okay, don't take me seriously, I'm so hungry and I'm hypoglycemic… I need an apple…**

**Girlonthemoon : yay, college! And I'm out of university in 8 months… I can't wait! Glad you love my work…**

**Talia458 : Scott's brother? *shudders* I hate that idea. I don't think Marvel actually made Remy Sinister's son, but I also read a lot of fanfics about the idea, and I think it's just something the fans made out to explain why Sinister is so interested in him. Remy Summers? *shiver* igh. No way. Not in MY stories…**

**Foofighta : Oooops! I'm getting mixed up with the French X-Men names again. Tell me when I call Rogue 'Malicia'… *grin* Now, take Antoine's death as a revenge about Didier. *sticks out her tongue* Bleh! Now, the twins didn't get the red-on-black eyes, because I like green more. *grin* Yes, red-on-black may be a dominant color, but that doesn't mean kids automaticaly get it. After all, brown is a dominant color for eyes, but if kids always got the dominant genes, we'd all have brown eyes. My boyfriend's (fiance's! yay!) parent's both have brown eyes, but he got grey-blue eyes, and babies sometimes get the recessive genes from their parents. Which means it could be possible for Josée's and Louis' future kids to get Remy's eyes, though I don't think this story will go this far (hopefuly not). But hell, I'm not a genetic freak… About Aimée and Josée being friends, well, I guess it could be a possibility. After all, Aimée isn't a bad girl, and like you said, she's more than a ball of angst and melodrama, and Josée is the sweet I-fit-in-everywhere kinda child, very low-profile and gentle… I don't think anyone couldn't stand Josée, except for mutant haters, of course. I don't think they could meet, though. *grins* In a parallel world, maybe…**

**Me : wow, you really are obsessed! *eyes widen* Two days?**

**Becki : thanks a lot… Writing is another world for me, a way to fly away from my present life… Things HAVE gotten better, and some events can sometimes help find inspiration for writing. Though as you can see, it's not always very positive…**


	15. Bonding

**Ha ha! Oh, please, never, never write more than one story at a time, it's wears off the muse and takes away the ideas… Wow, two chapters of Sixteen Years in two days? Hey, I'm back! Sorry for the mistakes, I have a partyyyyyyyyy tonight (we celebrate the beginning of the semester, the half-way-to-the-half-semester, half-semester, three-quarters-done-semester, and the end-of-the-semester, not to mention Halloween, Xmas, and all the others… I love University), and if I took time to correct this, you would get until tomorrow night… *grin***

**Enjoy!**

_Bonding_

_Sherbrooke__, Québec_

She got out of the house and shivered, rubbing her upper arms to produce some warmth and get rid of the gooseflesh. She sighed. Only the beginning of august, and the temperatures were already dropping, yoyoing between high, humid temperatures in the day down to autumn-like degrees in the night. She looked up at the stars, and repressed a sigh.

A car was parked in front of the house, and the driver flashed the headlights. She smiled and opened the passenger door.

"_Tu es en retard!*" Daniel smiled sheepishly at her._

"Get in… Sorry, Lili, my grand-mother called, I just couldn't get her to hang up." She giggled and climbed in the car. Buckling up, she looked at him, pools of bright blue intent on him. They had been together since april, and he had to be the guy she felt most comfortable with, above all the guys she had been out with. And she had been out with a lot. A wave of sadness washed over her again, and she looked down at her hands. Daniel leaned in closer. "Sorry we couldn't see each other in the last days, I was…"

"The police are closing the case." Daniel froze.

"What?" Lilianne looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"They're closing the case. A runaway, they say, he'll come back when he's ready, _if he's ready, they say…" Her voice broke on the last words and Daniel pulled her in his embrace. She burried her head in his neck, sobbing as tears ran down her face. She heard him sigh deeply as she clutched his shirt between her fingers. A whole month since Antoine had left the house after a fight with their father François. A whole month, since they hadn't had any news from him, and since she tried convincing herself that she would see her brother alive again one day. She sniffed and looked up at her boyfriend._

"He'll come back, you'll see" he said, staring at her. She nodded and reached out to her purse to get something to blow her nose.

"I need air. I can't stand it inside the house." Daniel started the engine, and began driving.

"Let's go play some pool."

**

She sipped on her drink, nervously looking around. "Daniel, I'm only sixteen, you know. I'm not supposed to be here." He didn't answer, his eyes on the cue, and made his hit. The ball ricocheted and bounced an inch from the pocket, and he chuckled. 

"I sooo suck at that game." She giggled nervously and got up, taking hold of her cue.

"That makes two of us… Why did you bring me here? You're 17 and almost legal **, but I'm waaaay under age, Dan." He shrugged.

"This is more a pool and cigar place, not really a bar. As long as you don't buy any alcohol they won't bother you, and the police won't come here. I was getting tired of the bowling place, and I like the general atmosphere…" She smiled, so did she. A light relaxing music came from the speakers, and the smell of vanilla cigar coming from a nearby salon tickled her nose. The lights were dimmed, with the exception of the green lamps over the nice green coated Dufferin billiard tables. There were black comfy couches near every table, and the air conditionning made the room very comfortable. She hit the ball, and it knocked one of Daniel's, making it drop in the middle pocket.

"Aaah, _merde." He chuckled. _

"Thanks, Lili." She smiled and took a step back to let him make his move. She knew why he had brought her here. It was one of Antoine's favorite places, and she knew he came here often with Daniel. She missed her brother dearly, but she remembered Daniel and Antoine had become good friends since she started dating him, and that he must miss Antoine as well.

She was deep in her thoughts and started when she fell a light buzzing on her hip. She hung up her cue and picked up her cell.

"_Allo?" Daniel stopped playing and watched her as her features changed, horror dawning in her eyes. Her knees wabled, and he barely managed to get around the pool table to grab her arm and help her sit on a black couch before her knees gave way. She hung up the phone, and stared intently at it._

"What's going on? Lili? What's wrong?" She looked up at him, tears filling her beautiful baby blue eyes.

"We… we found…him" was all she managed to say before she collapsed in Daniel's arms, sobbing and shaking as her heart broke.

_*You're late!_

_** In Québec, the legal age for entering bars and buying alcohol and cigarettes is 18, not 21. _

~~

_Westchester__, _New York____

She sat on her bed, her knees drawned up under her chin, and hugged her legs. The people in the pictures on her drawer stared back at her, smiling for various reasons. She didn't.

Her heart ached each time she met the red-on-black eyes, and she shook her head. He had been lying to her since she was born. She felt betrayed.

She sobbed and hugged her knees even closer, leaning her chin on it. Who was she fooling? She felt alone. For years she had the most incredible father-daughter relationship ever seen. For years she could have said her father understood her more than her mother.

Rogue was a great mother. Always there, always loving. The base, the solid pilors to their family. Remy was softer. She had often had fights with Louis, who was saying the exact contrary. She chuckled, and reached out to take the picture. It had been taken at the zoo, some year before. She was sitting on her father's shoulders, a huge smile on her face. He was grinning as well. The picture was kind of blurry, and there was the shadow of a thumb in the corner. Louis had taken that picture, she could still remember it. Good times, where she and Louis didn't have any powers, and she knew nothing of her father's past.

There was a tap at the door, but she didn't open her mouth to let him in. It had to be him; she had locked herself up in her room for the last two days, living on water from her bathroom and chocolate bars and snacks hiden in her room. Rogue had tried to talk to her, but it had proven useless and she had left her alone. Remy had come several times knocking on her door, but never opened it, thought she knew he was very much capable of opening any lock. Louis never came, and he was probably the only one she'd let in.

"Jo?" The voice was muffled through the door, but she lifted her head, unsure. Louis and Remy's voice were almost identical. "Jo, open up, sis, I wanna talk with you." No French accent. She got up, and unlocked the door before heading back to the bed. The door opened, and Louis came in. Without a word, he turned to close and lock the door, then headed for the bed as well. He layed down on it as it was his, and closed his eyes with a sigh. "Geesh, Jo, and I thought the tension was unbearable downstairs… It ain't any better here!" She threw him a pillow, but he caught it before it reached his face.

"You came here to bother me?"

"No."

"You came to talk me into talking to Dad." His green gaze flickered to her, but he shook his head.

"No. I came because I knew you felt alone." She sat mouth agape for a few seconds, and her bottom lip started to quiver. She bit it and looked at the floor.

"How do you know?" Louis sat up and looked at her.

"I always know, sis. Like you know me."

"You don't look mad." He frowned.

"I should?" She blinked three times.

"You… you don't know about… about dad?" she stammered. He sighed, and layed back in the pillows, crossing his arms on his chest.

"You're talking about when he worked with Sinister?"

"What else" she said through clenched teeth. Louis glared at her.

"Ah, come one, Jo! That happened like… what, twenty years ago? Twenty-five? He couldn't have been much older than Aeros, for what I know!"

"Leave Antoine out of this! And Dad killed these mutants!"

"How do you know if you weren't there to see it, Josée? Who are you to be the judge of something you didn't even witness?!" He was getting angry by the second, she could see it, but she was slowly flushing as well. She got off the bed and on her feet.

"I saw it, Lou. You didn't, but I saw it! All the images in his head!" Louis took in a deep breath, and shook his head.

"You didn't see it all, Jo. You only saw what Prue wanted you to see." She stopped breathing.

"What do you mean?"

"Dad decided it was better if it was him who told me about it, rather than you." He shot her a sideway glance, and a small grin. "Guess he was right." She sighed impatiently and tapped her foot.

"Get to the point, Lou."

"He didn't tell me, he showed me. The professor transferred the images into my head. Like Prue did to you, but without the pain she voluntarily caused you both. So don't you come and tell me you saw everything, because I saw it too. The difference is I saw everything. Not you."

"How much more did you see?" Her tone was a bit less aggressive, turning into curiosity.

"Did Prue show you he didn't know the Marauders were hired to kill the Morlocks? Did she show you Dad trying to stop them, saving a little girl from the massacre?" Josée stared at him for a few moments, and slowly sat down on the bed again. She swallowed, hard.

"No." It came out like a whisper.

"Did she show you the trial?" She glanced at him, then back to her hands in her lap. A lump was forming in her throath, and she felt like trying to swallow a rock.

"No, I didn't know there had been a trial."

Louis sighed and got off the bed, walking to the door. "I have to go to the mansion for my training with Scott." He snorted. "Oh, and Hank said he wanted to meet us when we had a moment." She looked up.

"At the mansion? In the med lab?" Louis shrugged.

"I don't know, ask Dad." He put his hand on the doorknob, but turned to her a last time. "Oh, Jo… Mom called Antoine's family, they're coming. They should arrive tonight." She sighed.

"How are we going to explain all of this?" Louis shrugged again, and made a sad smile.

"What do you say we let _him_ do the explaining part."

**To be continued…**

**Okay, this really sucks as an ending, but this is already four pages long and I wanted to fix some things up before I wrote chapter 16… I'm really having a hard time finishing this!**

**Foofighta : Like I said, just between you and me, dear friend, *whispers* You know how much I love Antoine… *wink* They might have looked emotionless about Antoine's death *chuckle*, but all will be explained in the next chapter… And my boyfriend (I really have some hard time getting used to the fiancé thing) works overtime this Saturday (now, how much does THAT suck to you?), so I'm having lots of time to write more and more… I don't want Josée to turn bitter. She does have something Aimée doesn't: a sweet brother… thank God one of them has a little sense. And now, once your mother's marriage is over, you run to your computer and write that famous part four I'm suppose to love so much. *taps her foot impatiently* Do you know for how long I've been waiting?**

**KrazyKat : Welcome to the world of endless Gambit angst and emotional wreck. Glad you like it though…**

**Me : your obsession? Wow! Now I feel all important! Makes me feel like the writer in _Misery_. *large grin* yay! Oh, and about Josée finding Remy bending over her boyfriend's dead body… *chuckled* I didn't think about it like that, but I must admit it looks kinda freaky.**

**Tammy : Poor Antoine, yeah… I'm a little sad though, nobody reacted like crazy at his death, like it was normal… Hey, he DID save Rogue's butt, no?**

**Ishandahalf : It's a good thing you're looking for angst right now, cause I have plenty in store. See, Sixteen Years is almost finished, but then I want to go on with But it ain't home. And you know me, I'm not going to make it easy for the characters. Do you like crying? *evil laugh* Oh, I love making characters suffer. Am I crazy for it? Maybe, heck, I'll never know unless someone tells me. And yup, I will try to put in some sweetness in the next chapters, maybe not only Remy/Rogueness… Ooops! Must not tell you more! *zips her mouth* mmmmphhmmhpphmmm! Mmmmphmm!**

**Nessie : you have no idea how much I laughed when I saw the 'yay!' right after 'cruelness all the way!'… You are soooo part of my club, friend. And I agree with you with the eyes. Besides, red is cool, but I wanted the kids to have a 'normal' childhood (which is kinda difficult with red eyes) and arrive in their teenage years angst-free, which makes the ordeals even crueler. *evil laugh* I love myself for being so bad… And it IS sad that Aeros died in the last chapter… Hmmm, what could I do now to bring in some angst? *narrows her eyes at her muse* What? Oh, great, what a good idea!!! *taps madly on her laptop* Oh, chapter 16 is going to be soooo good…**


	16. In which everything makes sense

***Sigh* OMG! That took soooo long to write (Okay, the chapter came out fast, but bear in mind that I almost only did that yesterday and this morning…)!! Hey, I have a surprise for you, gang, though it didn't seem to tarumatise anyone that Antoine was dead. *sigh* You almost didn't react, guys! I wanted frustration, death threats, anything! Nooo, you just accepted it without a word. *giggle* Am I the only one to like character torture here?**

**Enjoy!**

_In which everything makes sense_

He felt like falling from a dense, thick white cloud to land on hard ground. No, not hard, but quite comfy, and soft. He took a deep breath. Bad idea.

It hurt. His chest was tearing appart with every breath, and he felt like breathing water. But his chest wasn't the only thing that hurt.

He felt like a hot poker was replacing his back bones, and something was around his neck, keeping him from moving his head.

Where the hell was he? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?

He tried to open his eyes, but the whiteness of the place blinded him, and he quickly closed them back with a moan.

Then he remembered. The power blast aimed at his chest, the dreaful sound of his neck breaking.

He should have been dead… but for some reason, it looks like he wasn't.

He felt panic as he remembered his neck was broken. Could he move? Was he paraplegic for the rest of his life? "I'd rather die" he thought. But he comforted himself, reasonning that his whole body wouldn't hurt so much if his spinal cord had been snapped. He wiggled his toes, and sighed with relief. He wiggled his fingers, and touched hair.

He popped his eyes opened, touching again. What was around his neck prevented him to look down, but he did swivel his eyes to each side, taking on his surroundings. It looked like a hospital, but he had a doubt it wasn't a general hospital. More like a private clinic…

His neck was sore and hurting, and he moaned, trying to stretch it. The hair on his fingers stir, and a face came into view. He gasped.

"Lilianne?" he whispered. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, and looked down at him, a beaming smile on her face.

"Antoine… I'm so happy you finaly woke up!" She looked like she was going to lunge at him to hug him, and he braced himself. Instead, she leaned down and let her head rest on his shoulder. "You scared us, Toine. Never do that again."

"Where am I?" he croaked. He felt like his vocal cords would never work normaly again.

"At the Xavier's mansion, in the med lab, or something like that." She frowned. "There's a big blue teddy bear taking care of you." Her face was so comical he chuckled.

"That's Hank, I think."

"Aaah, the prodigual son has awaken!" There was the sound of a door closing, and heavy footsteps walked in his direction. A big blue furry face appeared over him. "How are you feeling, my fellow Frenchman?" Antoine closed his eyes, overwhelmed. He didn't understand why he was still alive, and two was too many over his head at the same time.

"Crowded" he answered. When he opened his eyes again, Lilianne had retreated to the chair next to the bed, and Hank had proceeded into tilting his bed so he could half sit. Or at least see what was going on in the room. "Hank… why… what happened?"

"I believe the real question is 'why am I not dead?', no? I still have to figure out what exactly happened in your body the moment your neck broke. The only persons I know who could have survived such an impact are Rogue and Wolverine." Hank sat down on a chair he pulled next to the bed, and looked at him. "Have you ever had a important accident? A car wreck, a big fall…"

"A car wreck." Antoine swallowed. He didn't like to remember that, and the fact that it was because he was loosing Josée that he left so suddently.

"When?"

"At the beginning of the summer. Ahm… six weeks, maybe." Hank's brows went up at that.

"Do you remember what injuries you might have suffered?"

"No" he whispered. "I was unconscious for several days." From which he had awakened to see Josée had flew away, leaving him alone.

"A very bad broken leg" Lilianne answered for him. "Several broken ribs because of the airbag, a sprained wrist, and several lacerations."

"Lacerations? Where?" Hank asked, his narrowed eyes looking at Antoine, and his seemingly unbruised skin.

"His face. And it took him no more than a week to recover from his broken leg." She was looking at him too, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I wish I could heal as quickly as you, _le frère_…" Hank smiled.

"A healing power might be the answer, Antoine. It seems you are full of surprises." He rose from his chair, and walked to the door. "I will tell your parents that you have awakened. I believe you have some explanations to give them."

He left the room, leaving Antoine looking sheepishly at his grinning little sister.

~~

Hank smiled. Josée, Louis, Remy and him were sitting at the small dinette table in the kitchen of the mansion, and he felt like looking at younger, slightly different versions of Remy and Rogue. Josée didn't have white stripes in her hair, but her long auburn hair, a tad darker than her mother's coppery locks, fell in her back with the same beautiful curls than Rogue's. Louis, sitting between sister and father, was almost a perfect replica of his father, with hair the same color as Josée and Remy (though Remy's did held some greyish strands at his temples, he noticed silently), dishelved and falling over his eyes, same height, same wide shoulders with a promise of powerful arms and chest when he would get older. They had Rogue's emerald eyes, though maybe a little more narrowed, like Remy's. The three of them were also frowning at him in interrogation, and he found very it very comical. He chuckled.

"Let's begin this little meeting with the beginning of it all. Your father's powers allows him to kineticaly charge any non-biological matter, using the potential energy enclosed in the atoms forming the material, and converting it into kinetic energy. Since every material is formed of atoms, he can charge about anything. His powers have evolved after his encounter with Sinister seventeen years ago, so he has been able to charge items through air, without touching, but it costs him huge amounts of body energy and heat, and wears him off quickly."

"Which is why I don' do it often, only when I really need to." Hank nodded at Remy, and continued his explanation to the frowning twins.

"The difference between yours and Remy's powers are that Remy cannot charge living material, such as biological cells. He can charge them if they're dead, but not while they're alive. He couldn't charge a spider if he tried, but he could charge a dead rat." Remy lifted a brow at Hank at the example, but smiled and said nothing.

"But we can charge living stufff" interrupted Louis. Hank nodded again.

"You both have the power to kineticaly charge items, like your father, but you can do it as well on biological material as on non-biological material. Which means you can charge objects as well as animals, bugs and humans. Though you can only do it through skin contact." Josée shivered.

"What are you trying to say?"

"The potential energy you three use to convert into kinetic energy is much more present in living cells than in dead cells. That is why we thought you have to concentrate on charging a non-biological material in order to convert the energy concealed inside of it. Living cells have so much energy enclosed that your body detects it right away, not allowing you to control the power conversion. This is the explanation we have come up to explain the control you have on charging non-living material, but not living material."

"It's very logic, Hank, but it doesn't help to know it" said Josée, a tint of despair in her voice. Hank smiled, and picked an apple in the fruit basket on the table. He threw it at Louis, who caught it with one hand. He looked down at the red shiny fruit, then at Hank.

"Louis, walk to the patio door, charge the fruit and throw it away." Louis frowned, but got up and walked to the door. Opening it with one hand, he charged the apple with the other, then threw the flaming fruit away as far as he could. It exploded over the park outside, sending white bits, pips and juice over the threes. He turned to Hank.

"What was the point?"

"Prooving that you can charge an apple." Louis frowned and opened his mouth to reply, but Hank raised his blue paw, stopping him. He picked up another fruit, and threw it to Remy, who caught it and looked at him with a small smile and a frown. "Charge it, Remy."

Remy raised his brows, but he nodded and looked a the apple for a few seconds. Then, winking at Hank, he opened his mouth and took a juicy bite out of it. Josée chuckled. "I don't think that's what he had in mind, _papa." Remy swallowed, and shook his head._

"It's de only t'ing I can do with it." Both teens opened their mouth. Remy looked at Hank. "Why d'y'ask me? Y'knew I couldn't."

"What do you mean?" Louis asked. "You can charge an apple, surely. It's so small…" Remy shook his head.

"_Non, I can't. I never could." He took another huge bite of the fruit._

"There are two kinds of living cells on Earth" Hank explained. "There are vegetal cells, who form the plants, flowers, trees and such, and there're the animal cells, which are the base to any animal form on Earth, from the bacteria on your skin to fish, from insects to humans. Now," he took the apple from Remy's hand before he ate it all, "we all know you can charge these living cells. You could charge an object, such as playing cards and furniture, like your father. But you can also charge living things like trees and bugs. Are you all following me?" The twins nodded, a deep frown on their forehead. Remy smiled, recognizing Rogue in the frown and the green eyes. Hank lifted the apple so they could see it. "This is a fruit. It is the way plants have found to reproduce themselves, and it is made of living vegetal cells."

"But since it's been picked up, it's dead, no?" Louis interrupted, a strange look in his eyes. Hank smiled. They were begining to understand.

"It is still alive. The pips you find in the fruit enter the earth as the fruit rottens, and dies. But the cells we find in this apple" he lifted it into view for demonstration "are still alive, though no longer fed by the plant.When the cells die, the fruit rottens. It is made of living cells, which is why Remy can't charge it, but you two can. Now," he leaned back in the chair and his eyebrows rose in interrogation "the question we have to ask ourselves is why you actualy could _control_ the charging of those living cells, while you can't control it when you touch an animal or a human.?"

"Dere's prob'bly less energy in it, I s'pose?" Remy asked. He was more than interested in what was said, and sat on the edge of his chair. "Maybe dere's more potential energy in animal cells than vegetal ones."

"Maybe" came Josée's voice. She reached out and took the apple, looking at it. "But it still is alive, dad. And it still contains more energy than dead cells. Am I right?" She looked up at Hank, who nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, before this all turns redundant, I want to tell you my theory about your capacities to control your powers. These powers came to you at the same time, Louis by "charging" Remy, and Josée by charging a bench." Louis shivered and sighed, and Hank smiled. "I still thank the odds for it being your father you touched, Louis. If it had been anyone than him or probably Rogue, maybe even Logan, it could have been mortal. This fact made us focus our attention on the fact that you could charge living cells, and we kind of pushed aside your capacities to charge non living cells. But we never thought of the fact that Josée couldn't control her powers either when they first manifested. Or you wouldn't have blown up that bench at the mall." There was a long silence, and Remy leaned back in his chair, a small smile on his lips.

"I couldn't control m'powers at first either. I kept blowin' up t'ings in de house, nearly burned de house down, and drove m'father crazy. I couldn't even hold a fork, and eat." Hank smiled at him, and looked at the twins.

"All of this to say it is probably my own fault you can't touch anyone without charging them." He frowned and shook his head at their concerned expressions. "You see, the brain is the most incredible machine on Earth, but also the most complicated one. You body won't function normaly as long as your brain won't let it. Now, the very first time your powers emerged, the first thing we told you was that you couldn't control your abilities on charging living cells, but could control it when charging non-living material, _which we hadn't proven yet, since Josée blew up the bench without controling it." Hank sighed, seeing their doumbfouded faces. "I other words, I screwed up your brains…"_

"Is it like a phobia of somethin'?" Hank smiled at Remy's interruption.

"Thank you Remy, I was looking for an example. It can be compared with a phobia. Your brain is so convinced of something, even if it isn't true, and makes your body reacts in that way. It's the same thing with psychological pregnancy. If a woman is a hundred percent sure that she is pregnant, chances are that her body will react as if she were, and she will gain weight, her periods will stop, and her breasts might even begin to produce some milk if the problem is not resolved quickly. I told you, the brain is a powerful engine. Now, your problem is that you are so convinced that you can't control your charging of living material, that your body reacts the same way, not allowing you to control it."

"I didn't even try to, when I killed the Marauder, on the street" Louis said. "I knew he would blow off, the moment I touched him, so I didn't even try to keep it inside. It just… flowed out."

"But Louis had to concentrate on charging the apple. Why didn't his brain tell his body to charge it right away?" Josée asked.

Hank smiled. "He said it himself. He thought the apple was made of dead matter, and that he could control it, like you both thought Remy could charge it. Now if I'd told him it was made of living cells before I gave it to him, chances are he _couldn't have controled it." Hank leaned back in his chair, a large grin on his face. "All of this is fascinating. I love psychology."_

**To be continued…**

**Sorry to end the chapter this way, but I worked so hard on the meeting part, and I'm fed up with the chapter. Hope you understood what Hank was babbling about… Ask if you have any question, and I'll answer it the best I can. I am not, after all, a psychologist.**

**Foo : I felt like it was a manner of life or death by the way you ended that review. Okay. I personnaly thought Antoine's family knew about his powers. If you go back to chapter 3: Finding a friend, you'll see that Philippe calls Antoine a mutant freak, so I'm guessing the whole school knows about Antoine's powers. It would be hard hiding it from his parents from then. Take your guess, maybe they manifested at first at school, then he was taken at the principal's office, call the parents at home and blah blah blah. I think I made the Bergeron's (that Lilianne and Antoine' last name, is case some people hadn't noticed. I think I mentionned it only once) a very nice and understanding family, so there shouldn't be any problems with mutants. Though if I were them, maybe I'd seriously reconsider letting my daughter live with them for a year (danger danger…). And it seems you are the only one who noticed Louis' last quote in chapter 15. Nope, Antoine isn't dead. And at least it didn't take me more than two chapters to bring _him back… *sticks out her tongue* Hint, hint! Write, write!_**

**Becki : Oh, yay, you're crying! I know I have power on my readers, that's what I like so much about writing! The power, man, the power! But don't worry. _Though Time_ and _Sixteen Years_ weren't meant to have bad endings. _But it ain't home_, maybe, but not _TT_ and _16 years…_**

**nessie : If you like cruelness as much as I do, you are indeed crazy, my fellow sadistic friend. But do not worry! It's a good thing! *wink* *hands out a straitjacket to nessie* Welcome in the club, friend! By the way, merde is pronounced  [meh (think meeeeh, like a sheep) – r (roll it, like a cat purring) – dh] short version [meh-r-dh]**

**WarmerThanFire : I'll try putting some more Rogue and Remy by the end of this. There was a little more Remy in this one though.**

**ishandahalf : Okay, I don't think you'll cry in that story, so put your kleenex aside for a while. As for the quick updates, I don't think I can do it as quickly as I did Through Time (20 chapters in two weeks… I _was_ crazy), but I'll do my best…**

**Tammy : Well… here's more! No Rogue, though, sorry!**


	17. Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, jamais j...

**Disclaimer : Any reference to Prue belongs to foofighta. Also, the title of this chapter isn't my invention, it's the chorus of a very very old folkloric French song, _La claire fontaine_. Oh, and some of the characters aren't mine. I borrowed them without telling the owner (which is kinda like stealing, but not quite). Once again, sorry for the mistakes…**

**Enjoy!**

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_Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai _*

She got up from her chair the same time as everyone, and walked to the door, feeling Remy's eyes burning a hole in her back. She should talk to him, she thought, and sighed, stopping in the corridor outside the mansion's kitchen. She saw Louis waving to her, and heading outside, while Hank walked to the elevator door, going down to check on his patient. She felt a pinch thinking about Antoine downstairs, but she sighed, and turned. Remy was there, leaning on the doorframe, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing his weekend jeans, she noticed, the ones he wore when he worked on his motorcycle or his car with Louis, along with the dark blue t-shirt she remembered giving him when she was twelve. She finaly lifted her head to meet his eyes, and nearly broke into tears. His face was dark with concern, and she could read all the guilt he felt inside of him in his eyes. It was something she never saw in her father's eyes, and knowing he could very well hide these feelings under a perfect poker face, she could easily guess he wanted her to see it. She looked deep into the sad crimson and golden depths and surprisingly enough, it was him who looked away, staring at the floor at their feet.

"Y'still mad at me, aren't you." It wasn't a question, and she felt a pang of guilt about letting him think she hated him.

"No" she whispered, but loud enough so he could hear it. He looked up at her.

"_Non?" he repeated. She swallowed and nodded._

"_Non. I… Louis told me. About what you showed him, and what I didn't see when Prue showed me some of your souvenirs." He sighed and ran his hands in his hair._

"I wish y'haven't seen dat."

"And I wish you'd told us about that long ago."

He stared at her eyes for a long moment, then shook his head. "_Non, I couldn't tell you. I… I've been through a lot trying to get pardon from de X-Men and y'mother, Josée. And from m'self as well." He looked down at his hands. "I couldn't imagine m'self in a situation where I had to explain my past mistakes to my own children." He chuckled cynicaly, and looked back at her. "A situation like dis one."_

"You don't have to, _papa_. I believe you." His hands dropped to his sides, and he tilted his head to the left.

"Y'really do?" She half-shrugged, a smile on her lips. His eyes lighten, and her smile grew larger. She knew she had her mother's smile.

"I always did, _papa_. You're my father." She walked the step separating her from him, and circled his waist with her arms, leaning her head on his chest and closing her eyes as her cheek brushed the soft coton of his shirt. She loved her father's cologne, and images of her whole childhood related to that smell drifted in her mind as she sighed with relief of having her father back. She felt the cucoon of warmth and security close around her as he hugged her, gently rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head.

"_Je t'aime, ma chouette."**_

"_Je t'aime aussi, papa."_

~~

He felt his mind drift away from sleep, and moaned. Not now, he didn't want to wake up from painless dreams to come back in a bruised body. Not that he was hurt a lot physicaly anymore. His neck had entirely healed, according to Hank, and his plastic cast had been removed from his neck. Even his burnt chest was healed, leaving the skin to shed a bit. The only reasons he was still in the med bay was because Hank wanted him under supervision for a few days, to make sure he was okay, and because he still had a few psychological bruises to heal. It had been five days since he woke up, and he had seen the face of every living creature on the mansion grounds, even Thing, a huge old cat Remy had brought to him when he had heard Antoine had one at home. The seventeen years old black and white cat now layed curled up in a ball at the feet of the bed, a constant purr coming out of it's body. Everyone had come to say hello and wish him well, except for Josée.

Maybe she was just hiding in her house, he could see it through the window. Maybe she was just waiting for him to heal and go back home, so she can act like she never saw him.

He had news for her.

He had accepted Xavier's proposition of staying at the X-Mansion. He was going to become an X-Man. And Josée would have to live with it, wheter she wanted it or not. But he would prefer it if she wanted it.

He sighed, more hurt than he wanted to pretend to. The last time they'd talk, she learned he was working for Sinister, and turned her back on him. And the time before, they had a fight and he ran away in his car like the fool he was, and wrecked his car. Was he really hoping she come running to him, a wide smile on her beautiful face? He closed his eyes, concentrating on trying to fall asleep again. He opened them again, though, when he heard the door of the room open. Talk about the wolf…

He quickly looked back at his hands in his lap when he met her eyes, and he heard her slowly walk to the chair next to his bed. He carefuly avoided her look the whole time she came near him, and sat down, and he closed his eyes and swallowed when he heard her sigh.

"Hank told me you were better."

"I've seen worse" he answered, his eyes set on his hands. Why was she there?

"You really got us scared back in Antartica… You should have seen Hank's face when you started to breathe again, once aboard the Black Bird."

He finaly looked up, and Josée felt her heart skip a beat. His eyes were always one of the first things you noticed in his face, and they held so much emotion at that moment, her heart broke in half. "I'm sorry, Josée" he said, apology written all over his face. "I should have told you long ago that I was stuck with Sinister. _Merde_, Jo, I could have told you before you even left Sherbrooke."

"It's okay, Antoine… He did the same to my father, long ago. I just wish you'd told me about it."

"I wish it too, but I can't very well go back in time, can't I?" She stared in the purple tainted dark blue eyes, and smiled. He smiled back.

"No. From now on, you can only look forward." She looked down at her hands, and swallowed. "Somebody must have told yo about my powers…"

"Louis did. Josée…"

"You know I could kill you with a touch." She looked back at him, to see his smile hadn't faded away, but only frozen a bit. He reached out and pushed an auburn lock away from her face.

"If I'm well informed, that didn't stop your father from sticking to your mother's side for so long."

"Yeah, well, the worse that could happen to _him_ was to fall uncounscious on the floor. You'll… you'll die if you touch me." She felt herself blush, knowing she was hiding the fact that she probably could control her powers with some practise and some time. But she wanted to know his opinion without that tiny detail. He sat straight in the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees, and looked down at her, blue eyes intent, and lips curled up in something like a smile.

"You're trying to push me away again, Jo?" He leaned down, his face inches from hers. "Because I'm hooked, and I'm not going anywhere." She looked up, startled.

"You're staying here?" He nodded, and she got up from her chair. She sat on the bed next to him, and he opened his arms in time to catch her as she lunged at him, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Antoine, I'm so happy you're staying at the mansion…" He smiled and chuckled, and hugged her. "Antoine, I… I might be able to control my powers one day." She burried her face in his shirt, but he said nothing, simply hugging her closer. "Hank said it was only a psychological problem, that Louis and I probably were able to control it from the start. With some practise, we should be able one day to have skin-to-skin contact without blowing up anyone." He took her arms and looked down at her. Taking a thin bed sheet in his hands, he layed it on her face so it covered her mouth and nose, and bent to kiss her lips through the thin jersey. Josée closed her eyes to push away the tears, and when she opened them back, he was looking at her,his smile reaching his eyes.

"I never stopped loving you, Josée. I can wait for as long as it takes."

~~

Lilianne sighed angrily, hanging up on her cell phone. He couldn't wait for a whole year? Met someone else? "Well" she thought "Daniel sure didn't waste his time." She walked through the unknown mansion and ended up in the kitchen. Suddently thirsty, she began desperately searching for a glass in the numerous cupboards of the huge mansion's kitchen. "Is it impossible to get a single glass of water here? I'm about to drink directly from the faucet!"

"You could, but I don't suggest you do that." She twirled, her long jet black hair wipping her face, to meet a dashingly white smile and devilish green eyes. He winked at her, and opened the next cupboard she would have opened herself. "There they are." She smiled. She filled two glasses and handed one to him, which he accepted with a small thanks. She looked at him, and grinned. He looked up at her with a familiar smile. "You must be Lilianne, Antoine's sister, and the girl who's staying with us for the next year."

"Yeah, and you must be Louis, Josée's brother." He chuckled.

"How did you guess?"

"You look familiar. I couldn't guess you're twins, though. I thought you were a little bit more identical." Louis nodded.

"Well, I look more like my father, and Josée's more like mom."

"I met your mother, but not your father yet. I think he's with my parents right now." Louis' smile faded a bit.

"I hope they're not too angry."

"They're not angry, they're more like relieved that he's okay… but I think they're dissapointed that Toine didn't tell us anything about what he put himself into. They think he should have asked for their help…" Lilianne sighed, and leaned back on the counter. "The thing is, I don't think they could have helped him in any way. I keep thinking it's Josée he should have told about it. You guys could have helped him long ago." He looked up at her, and she couldn't help but notice his emerald green eyes. She always thought they were beautiful in Josée's face, but on Louis'…

"Yeah, well, at least he's okay." A devilish grin made it's way on his face, showing two rows of perfectly white teeth. His eyes twinkled. "And he's going to feel much better in no time; Josée's in the med lab with him right now." Lilianne smiled as well.

"It's about time" she said. Louis laughed.

"You said it!" He set down his empty glass next to the sink, and turned to her. "I don't live here, we have our house on the other side of the mansion property, but I know the place very well. Since you're going to be staying for the whole year, care if I show you the surroundings?" She smiled.

"Sure." He turned his back to her to walk to the door, running his hands through his medium length auburn hair, and she bit her bottom lip, unable to take her eyes off his wide back and round buttocks, hugged in pale blue jeans. She felt her need to hunt come back with a vengeance, and followed him out. The moment she stepped out of the kitchen, though, she frowned and stopped in her tracks. She almost didn't feel it, a small poke in her brain, like someone nudging her mind, telling her to turn around. She did, and saw a tall red-haired girl, arms crossed on her chest, and blue eyes twinkling with anger and… jealousy? "I'm sorry, do I know you?" The girl's eyes narrowed and she walked to face Lilianne, who frowned. She hated being short, especially when she met tall, beautiful, angry red-haired girl. She hated red-haired girls. And she hated having to tilt her head back to look at someone.

"You should" the girl hissed. "And I don't want to see you lay a single finger on Louis." Lilianne's eyebrows lifted to her hairline, and she crossed her arms in the red-haired girl's fashion, mimicking her. It was like that, wasn't it?

"I guess that's not going to be easy, since my head would probably blow off the second my skin touched his. But I'm a really patient girl."

"Louis is mine" the girl said through clenched teeth. She was starting to get on Lilianne's nerves, who sighed angrily, letting her arms drop at her sides.

"Look, I don't know who you are, and I don't know your name, but it probably isn't written anywhere on his body…"

"Lydia!" Both girls turned to see Louis walking towards them, his smile slowly freezing on his face as he notice their defensive stances. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Louis" Lydia answered. She gave Lilianne a last warning look, and left the kitchen. Lilianne looked back up at Louis, who just gave her an interrogative stare. She shrugged.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Louis looked surprised, and his mouth opened. He quickly closed it, and looked at the corner where Lydia's long red locks had just dissapeared.

"Almost, but she never really was. I like her a lot, but she's more like a sister to me. Besides…" he looked down at her with a sheepish smile "she may look like her mother and have her powers, but she's starting to sound a lot like her father… Come on, I'll show you the rec room."

Lilianne looked one last time at the place where Lydia had vanished, and turned to follow Louis, a smile on her lips.

~~

I sat in the living room of our house, trying to get away from the frenzy in the mansion. Antoine had woken up, Josée was praticaly living in the med lab, and Louis was nowhere to be seen. From the look I saw on Lydia's face minutes ago, maybe it was better that way. Remy was still at the mansion with the Bergerons, trying to convince them that there was no danger in leaving both daughter and son at the X-Mansion, and he was probably charming his way into making them say yes. As for my children's powers… I was hoping with all my might that Hank was right.

I leaned back in the comfortable couch, and must have dozed off, for I woke up, startled, when I heard the front door opening. "Rogue?"

"Ah'm here, sugah." I leaned back in the couch, and Remy walked into the living room, running his fingers in his hair. He had had that habbit for years, but I found it funny how Louis had the same. "What did they say?" He lifted my feet to sit down, and put them back down on his lap, absentmindedly rubbing them between his warm hands. He sighed in relief.

"It's okay, Lilianne can stay. As fo'Antoine, he's 18, and he's of legal age in Québec, so dey can't very well force him t'come back. Anyway, I doubt he'll want t'leave" he added with a smile. I giggled and kicked when he deliberately brushed his finger under my toes, tickling me.

"Don't do that!" He looked down at me, a large grin on his handsome face.

"I'll do what I want, _chérie_." I smiled and opened my arms. He leaned down, laying next to me on the couch. It was narrow, and we hardly fit… It was very comfortable. He envelopped me in his arms and we squeezed ourselves in, pushing the large cushions away. "Maybe dere'd be more space in a bed, Roguey… or on de floor." I cuddled against him, burrying my face in his neck.

"Ah'm perfectly fine." He softly chuckled, the low-tone sound vibrating against my ear. I kissed his collar-bone and gently blew some air on the wet spot, and felt him shiver, gooseflesh raising on his arms.

"Aaaah, don't do dat!" I giggled.

"Payback time." He looked down at me and smiled. I stretched my neck to kiss him, but moved too fast, and we lost our balance. We fell on the carpeted floor, my butt painfully making contact with the ground, and Remy landing over me, on hands and knees not to crush me under his weight. He looked down at my face as I laughed, and his eyes glowed with desire. I brutaly stopped laughing as he bent down to kiss me, his mouth hard against mine, and I ran my hands up his chest to circle his neck, pulling him nearer, if such a thing was possible. I didn't hear the front door open, and neither did he. We both started when we heard a cough coming from the living room entrance, and we looked up to see a smiling Louis. He frowned at us, as Lilianne stood behind him, her luggage in her hands, her long black hair loose and wild around her shoulders, and a wide beautiful smile on her lips, under wide baby blue eyes. She dropped a bag on the floor and waved her fingers at us.

"Hello, _Monsieur et Madame LeBeau." I gave her a smile as I sat up, and Remy got on his feet, helping me up._

"_Papa, I wanted you to meet Lilianne, Josée's friend, and Antoine's sister" Louis said, a devilish smile on his face. Remy walked up to shake the blushing girl's hand, planting a smile on his face as he glared down at his son._

"_Enchanté" he said, and she murmured a thanks before walking to the staircase Louis was pointing to her. Before leaving, though, he turned back to us, and mimed the words: "Get a room, kids."_

The last thing I heard before burrying my head in my hands, shoulders shaking with laughter, was the sound of rampage in the house, the patio door slamming, then loud splashing in the pool as Remy probably attempted murder on his laughing son. I smiled at Lilianne who had ran down the stairs at the noise, eyes wide. I brushed the cat hair and carpet dust off my pants, and looked at the girl. "Get used to it, gal, it's always like that… Yah want a glass o'water?" 

The end? (naaaah, I'll probably write more…)

* For so long I've loved you, never will I forget you.

** _chouette (shoo-wet), litteraly speaking, is the French word for owl (small, white and grey cute thingies, not those big monstruous and dangerous brown owls that can eat a rabbit in one bite, which we call _hibou_), but it is also an affectionate nickname for a little girl, or a woman you know very (very very) well. It's a bit more personnal than _ma chère_ or even _ma chérie_._

**_________________________**

**Did you see it like I did?! Did you notice?! Did you see the plot slipping in?!? This was supposed to be the last chapter, and I managed to include a brand new plot, with some Romy, some sweetness between Antoine and Josée, a brand new X-Man, and even a love triangle between Remy's son, Scott's daughter and an excentric non-mutant girl who's going to stay at the LeBeau's house for a year… *cough* Now that is going to be interresting. Darn plot! Can I ever get rid of you? *cries* Now the question is… Do I end this here, like it was supposed to be (after all, the Sinister part is over, and there's no danger whatsoever), or do I continue this _advitam eternam with the love stories (which I will do only if people ask for it. As for me… I would like to head on with my other projects). Or maybe I could put it in a sequel? *sigh* Please don't get Lilianne wrong. She's a sweet girl, only she likes guys way too much. One day, she'll find the one that'll make her stay put, she just doesn't want it to happen at 16 years old. Now, why she's after a guy she can't even touch (this is meant to be cynical, considering the untouchable guy is the son of the one who wouldn't let go of an untouchable woman… are you following me?). Okay, okay… Now I really have to do my homework, or I'll never get some sleep this week end… I'll probably write more of this story, but much later, I'm afraid. I really want to get going with _But it ain't home_, and I have TONS of homework and work and stuff waiting for me…_**

**Review commenting part (yay!)**

**ishandahalf**** : I think the chapter answered your question… Oh oh, and I thought of you and put some Remy Rogue sweetness at the end of the chapter, just to hear you squeal. So squeal! Yay! Wow, I'm really fed up with all the sweetness and sap in that chapter… I really hope you liked it. I was left under the impression that this is what you like *grin*…**

**Nessie**** : sorry for not putting any torture in this chapter… It was intended as the last one (though I doubt it actually is…), and it was more fluffy than anything else. I hope you liked it anyway, though!**

**Tammy**** : Fun? If you like genetics… *grin* glad you still like it.**

**Becki**** : I'm happy you're not confused anymore. Keep it clear in mind that the twins don't have it under control _yet_… But I'm guessing they'll have lots of training sessions with uncle Summers.**

**Foofighta**** : Hold your horses with the wedding… They are only 16 and 18 years old, give the kids some chances to live their youth… *wink* You never know what might happen. I hope this chapter was 'fleurdelys' enough for you, in fact, I think there isn't anything _else than touching moments in that chapter. It was intended as the last chapter, after all, but there's so much I could still write… Maybe I could slip Magneto in it…_**


	18. We have finaly made it

_My dear Xmen. My pride. We have finaly made it. After years and years of fighting Mr Sinister and his evil Marauders, after almost losing some members of our big family, it is with a happy heart and pride in my eyes that I announce you that Sinister is now nowhere to be found. We have very good reasons to think he is dead, or somewhere near it, and is assuredly in no means capable of doing any harm anymore. Our last fight with us, after his desperate attempt to take hold of Louis and Josée's powers, has left him powerless and probably lifeless as well. Without him, his Marauders will split, and will cause no important harm alone. A page of our history has turned, leaving Mr Sinister and the Marauders behind._

_We have finaly made it._


	19. Because I have to

**Hey! At the beginning, this was a little one-shot fic I posted under the title of _A Quest for a Name_, but yeh see, Fleur wants to work a bit more on _Sixteen Years_. Now I haven't updated this in a long while (you know how FAST I am in my updates), so don't wait for it. I know, I know, it's like adding a third story to my unfinished stories collection, but a lot of you asked for a sequel or new chapters, so here it is. Foo, you asked for a piece of… how did you say that again? Louis pie? Hehe.**

**Btw, this happens a big while after the last chapters. So Louis and Josée are something like 19 or 20 right now.**

**Enjoy!**

_Four years later_

The twenty-years-old huge black and white cat sat on the dark blue quilt, its large golden eyes staring at him. It didn't purr as it usually did with anyone else. Probably because, although it recognized the person standing at the foot of the bed as one of the inhabitants of its house, it didn't remember having received any caresses from him in a long time. It sat up on the bed, half of its weight resting on its two rheumatism-eaten furry legs, and blinked one yellow eye at the newcomer, as if a cat could wink. The cat saw the shadow of a hand leaning over its head, and it closed its eyes and purred in ecstasy when hesitant fingers lightly touched its fur. Frustrated with the almost non-existent caress, the cat pushed its head in the palm of the male hand between its ears, and rubbed its back against the white bare arm joined at the hand, so that the fingers would finally go through the fur and massage its skin.

Louis closed his eyes as his fingers brushed against the cat's skin, concentrating. Fire burned behind his eyelids, and he felt like his heart was thumping in the middle of his brain. He groaned when the pain came soon after, like fire burning in his veins and in his shoulder, and suddenly rushed towards his fingers to get out of his body as he lost all control over it. He quickly drew back his hand from the purring cat, which meowed in demand of more caresses. It jumped off the bed with a loud thump, and rubbed against Louis' legs, in search of more petting. Louis sighed, and ran his fingers through his dark auburn hair in despair. He had to practise. But that didn't involve killing his father's old cat. He went out of his parent's bedroom, followed by the still meowing cat.

He quickly walked to the bathroom and slammed the door, ignoring his father's protestations from downstairs about fragile doors and hurting ears. With a sigh, Louis leaned on the big mirror, his hands flat on the cold surface. He stared in his own eyes, breathing heavily. Moss green eyes looked back at him, and he felt like his own image was laughing back at him, reminding him he got more from his mother than her eyes. He had his father's features, though. A long, straight nose and a fine, full mouth over a square jaw. A high forehead, hidden under uncontrollable auburn hair he kept shorter than his father, tucked behind his ears, shorter locks falling over his slightly slanted eyes. And he needed a shave. He pulled away from the mirror and got out of his clothes.

Moments later, he was leaning in the shower, hot water pouring on his body as he stood still, eyes closed and hands in his hair. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to stop the feeling that had been seeping in his heart for a few months. In an angry gesture, he turned off the water and watched as the water twirled down the drain. 

~~

Remy was sitting in one of the comfortable armchairs, a leg over a leather arm and the sports section on his knee. His dark hair was loose, brushing over his shoulders, and fine grey strands decorated his temples. He was in his day-off clothes: used but comfortable blue jeans and a black t-shirt, barefoot and hair untied. He liked being alone in the house, and he liked it even more when he was alone with Louis. The girls were at the mansion, he didn't remember why. He sighed in contentment and sank a little more in the comfy armchair before folding the newspaper and letting it drop on the table beside the chair. Folding his hands on his stomach, he closed his eyes, and let his body relax. Every sound was muffled and the house was silent as the first winter snowflakes began to fall. All he needed now was a cigarette, but he wouldn't dare light one in the house, even with Rogue gone out. And with the snow falling outside… the cigarette could wait.

He usually let his mind forget he was an empath, and would imprison his power behind a powerful psychic wall. Emotions were already easy to read in one's face, he didn't need the whole mansion inhabitants' feelings in his head. But now, in the comfort of his living room on a nice Sunday afternoon, he felt safe enough to think the emotions would be agreeable, and he opened his psychic door to let some friendly feelings enter his mind.

Almost instantly, his heart clenched and a powerful feeling of angst invaded his mind. He opened his eyes, closing the door to his psychic defences with an almost audible snap, and sat up in the armchair, his hands clutching his head and trying to get the horrible angry feeling out of his mind. Nice Sunday afternoon, ha. His red-on-black gaze drifted to the stairs, and he narrowed his eyes. Louis?

He found his son in his bedroom, lying on his back on his bed and staring at the white ceiling. Remy leaned in the doorframe and let his eyes linger on the backpack on the bed next to Louis, and on the shoes he was wearing. "Goin' somewhere?" 

Louis sighed deeply, but kept his green eyes on the ceiling.  "You know, I always thought it sucked havin' a father who could see your feelin's whenever he wants."

"Dat's why I don' do it, Lou."

"Yeah, well, for once, it would have been great if you'd done it more often." 

Remy frowned. "Y'felt it?"

"Yeah."

"And y'wanted me to feel what I felt?" Silence. Remy waited a moment, but getting no reaction from the prostrate form on the bed, he took a few steps into the room. "Lou, somethin's wrong y'not tellin' me?" Louis sat up on his bed and moved to the edge of the mattress. He talked softly, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.

"I'm leavin', _papa_." 

Remy didn't move. "_Oui_, I can see dat. But why? And where?" 

Louis smiled despite himself. "Sorry, _papa_, can't answer that."

"'Cause y'don' want to?" The young man shook his head.

"'Cause I don't know." 

Remy snorted. "Dat won' get'y real far, Lou. B'lieve me." Louis got on his feet and grabbed the backpack. He stood a few moments in front of his father still standing in the doorframe. Seeing his father didn't seem to want to move from his spot, he rolled his eyes.

"Stand aside, _papa_." Remy raised an ironic eyebrow and crossed his arms on his chest. Louis sighed angrily and his eyes blazed, that rare golden light suddenly coming to life again in the moss green eyes. Remy would have smiled if he hadn't known what it meant. The last time he saw these eyes, they were on a very much more feminine face, and he'd forgotten his wedding anniversary. "_Papa_, let me by!" he said through clenched teeth. "What are you doin'!"

"I'm y'father, Louis. It's my job to stop'y from doin' stuff I t'ink is stupid."

"Stupid? You think wantin' to make changes in my life's stupid?" 

Remy frowned. "Why in hell would'y want t'make changes in y'life?" 

Louis flushed, anger quickly rising. "Well gee, I don't know! Maybe I don't like it the way it is, _papa_!" He talked too fast to realize Remy was getting as angry as him, maybe even more.

"How grateful" he said simply, his voice cold. 

"You know that's not what I mean!"

"_Non_, I don't! And maybe I would if y'd got out of dat bubble o'yours and explain y'self t'me!"

"I don't have to! I've grown, _papa_, I'm not a child anymore!" Remy already knew that. The young teen Louis was a few years ago now towered over six feet tall, and could look at his father in the eyes and rival with him in shoulder broadness. As in voice strength. Remy narrowed his eyes and took a step back, letting his arms fall at his sides.

"I thought ye were." 

Louis' eyes narrowed as well. "What d'you mean?"

"Rogue'n me, we gave you and Josée everythin' we thought we didn't have at your age. I never thought it'd change'y into a spoiled and ungrateful brat." Leaving Louis standing there with his mouth opened in surprise, Remy turned and strode to the staircase. He went down the stairs fast, his bare feet banging on the wooden steps, and resisted the urge to throw his fist in a nearby wall. Once in the kitchen, he laid his hands flat on the lunch counter and squeezed his eyes shut, counting to ten through his teeth. When he opened his eyes again, not really calm but at least deprived of his urge to kill, he found Louis standing the other side of the counter, his eyes blazing with golden light.

"You don't know what I'm goin' through! Things like my powers, you didn't have to deal with stuff like that at my age!" Remy ran a hand on his face, and sighed. Crossing his arms on his chest, he looked directly in his son's eyes.

"Of course not. At y'age, I was only getting' married to de daughter of m'father's worst enemy, and gettin' expelled from de place I called home by m'own family'n friends for killin' my bran' new brother-in-law in legitimate defense. And yo'mother wouldn't know either, she was too busy havin' fun workin' fo'Mystique and tryin' to get rid of Carol Danvers' personality in her head. Of course we didn't have t'deal with stuff like yours, Lou." Louis looked out the window, swallowing hard.

"I'm not sayin' you got it easier than me, _papa_."

"Den explain, 'cause I'm not followin' you."

"I know I'm lucky to be here, to be with my family, to have happily married parents who care for me and everythin'…" His eyes drifted away from the window and came to Remy's face, looking for understanding. "But somethin's missin'. And it's not somethin' I can find here."

"Y'sure I can' help you?" 

Louis smiled. "_Papa_, you're the last person that could help me." Louis took a step back and sat on a chair, still looking at his father's surprised face. "I don't even have a codename, _papa_."

"You don't have to leave dis place t'find one, Lou."

"Yeah, I have to. 'Cause here, I'm not Louis or Lou, I'm Gambit's son." He rested his elbow on the dinette table and leaned his chin in his palm. "I've got your powers, I've got your voice and your looks, your hair… You've even taught me to pick locks, drive a motorcycle, charm girls and play pool like a pro. All I have to do is find red-on-black contacts and grow a French accent, and I'll _be_ you, _papa_. Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to be like my dad, like every boy, but…" He gave Remy a small smile. "But now, I think I know more about how to be like you than how to be myself. And I won't find any answers here." Remy stared at him a long moment before answering.

"_Non_."

"What? Dad, we killed Sinister years ago, it's not like I'm gonna be in _danger_ out in the wild."

"_Non_, y'won' find yer answers here. But where y'can find dem… I wish I knew." 

Louis smiled and rose to his feet, picking up his backpack. "I'll tell you when I do. Thanks _papa_."

"Y'leavin' now? Don'y want to wait fo y'mother t'come back?" Louis laughed.

"No, she'd tie me up to my bed until I changed my mind… I'll call her later." With a smile, he saluted his father and opened the door.

"Louis, wait." Remy walked to the door, grabbing his car keys on the table. "I'll drive'y to de bus station."


	20. Kanuk

**A/N : No, it's not a typo, it really is Kanuk, which is the name of a line of very very very warm (and very very very expensive) winter coats made in Québec, but is derived from the word Canuck (and you all know what that means. I'm personally still looking for where that word comes from). I guess you could call it a pun)… It was a one-shot too, like chapter 19, and I erased it (it only had one review… Ish's review, still, but it made more sense putting it here, in the story it belongs. Added a few lines at the end, too, to make it fit with the fact that Louis left.) Aaawwh, and sorry for the inter-cultural talk. I found it funny, so I added it.**

**Enjoy!**

****

**_Kanuk_**

Josée reached up and pulled her black fleece scarf up to cover her nose. The ice cold air around her made her nose stuck and her throat ache with breathing, but her brand new goose down-stuffed coat kept her hot, and walking with snowshoes had proven to be more difficult than she thought, making her sweat under her three layers of shirts. The worst part of it all, she thought with a light snort, was that she actually enjoyed this walk in the woods.

She had followed Antoine back to his family in Québec for Christmas, and they were going back to Westchester for New Year's Day in two days. Antoine's family had gone crazy with her coming, and she thought she must've gained at least 10 pounds with all the _tourtière_*, _six-pâte_**, beans and maple syrup, pork-legs stew***, Christmas log and stuffed turkey she ate. She snorted again. Stuffed turkey at Christmas. Ha.

She ducked under a low branch, trying to keep her balance, but she startled a partridge who flew away with a cry and a lot of noise. Josée started, falling back in the four feet deep snow with a shriek. She heard Antoine laugh behind her, as she vainly struggled, her feet in the air and snow falling in her face, to get up. She soon saw a pair of aluminium snowshoe and Antoine loomed over her rabbit hole, a huge grin on his face. He had taken off his sunglasses to look at her, and his purple eyes twinkling with amusement were a startling contrast with his dark hair, black scarf and dark blue coat. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were red because of the cold. She glared up at him, helpless, and he laughed. "Having problems, Jo?"

"Nooo, I'm actually enjoyin' havin' my butt freezin' in the snow." He laughed again and crouched, presenting a gloved hand to help her up. The movement made some more snow fall down on her and she closed her eyes, feeling the cold stuff on her skin. "Haaaaa!" She reached out and grabbed his hand, but pulled down with all her might. He lost his balance with a surprised yelp, and fell face first in the snow next to her, making some more snow fall in her face and under her coat. She erupted into laugher, hearing him struggle to rise to his knees, and he soon looked at her, a smile on his face, his hair gone white with snow. He narrowed his eyes, but stood and presented his hand to her again. Giggling, she took it and he pulled her up. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. I wanted to shove some snow into your coat for a few moments, but you would've caught a cold. I'll wait 'till we're home." He grinned down at her and she smiled sweetly at him, brushing the snow off her black suede coat. She fluttered her eyelids, trying to look innocent.

"Into my coat? That beautiful, brand new coat you gave me for Christmas? Why, you wouldn't want to ruin the leather, wouldn't you?" He snorted.

"It'll dry." He looked up at the dark blue sky, and then at west, where the sun was slowly setting. "We better turn back, if we want to get home before it's dark." Josée raised her eyebrows before glancing at the sunset.

"But it's not even 4 o'clock yet." He chuckled. 

"It'll be dark at five, Jo. I know these woods, but it's as cold as the North Pole here at night." He began walking away, his aluminium snowshoes barely sinking in the snow and she sighed, following him. 

They soon arrived in a clearing, and she gasped. They were at the top of a small hill, and had a beautiful view of the surroundings. Everything was white around, and she could see the townships covered in snow, the houses and barn the size of dices from her point of view. She could see smoke coming out of the chimneys, reminding her on how cold it was. The leafless trees were white with frosting, here and there a brave blue jay or a blackbird flying from branch to branch. And far behind, small white mountains she knew went all the way down to Vermont. She sighed. It was eerily beautiful, a sight she knew she would never see at home. "I think I'm beginnin' to understand why you love it here." He walked to stand next to her, watching the view as well, and smiled, but said nothing. "Do you miss that home, Toine?" He narrowed his eyes, scanning the landscape, and shook his head. 

"I miss the cold, and the snow, and my family. But home is where you are, Jo." She turned to him, smiling, and snuggled in his arms. She looked up, smiling at the small golden owl embroidered on the large fleece lapel of his Kanuk coat. She looked up a little higher. He was still looking at the landscape, his eyes narrowed against the sun reflecting on the bright white snow. Puffs of condensation came out of his parted lips, and her heart tightened. He looked like he belonged here. All she wanted was to stand on her tiptoes and kiss him, but couldn't, partly because of her snowshoes, and her powers. She clenched her teeth. That would be her New Year's resolution. She would work like never before on her control over her powers, and would kiss him under the mistletoe next Christmas. Her fingers reached up and played with the golden owl. "What's its name?" He looked down at her and frowned.

"What?"

"Its name. These coats have names, don't they?" He chuckled.

"_L'Otarie_. Why?" She shrugged. 

"Just curious. I find it funny how you guys name your coats." He laughed.

"When buying a coat empties your bank account, you give it a name and cherish it." It was her turn to laugh, and she fiddled with the embroidered owl again.

"Where does the name Canuck come from?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why are you so curious all of a sudden?" She smiled up at him.

"Just wanted to know if you guys knew what name some people call you."

"I'm not a Canuck," he answered. "I though we Frenchies were called frogs." She giggled.

"Well you're bilingual. Which makes you half Canuck, half frog. And you haven't answered my question." He smiled.

"I don't know. It probably is an Indian word. Almost every city name is in Canada. Hell, even Canada is an Indian word."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Means 'village', or something of the sort." She giggled, and he pushed her back playfully. "Hey, at least it means more than just a bunch of states." She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.

"Well at least we're not represented by a beaver." He raised an eyebrow and smiled wider.

"At least the beaver isn't an endangered specie." Her mouth dropped open in outrage and she started after him, but he was much faster than her on his snowshoes. She ended up falling in the snow again with a frustrated cry, and he laughed. He loomed over her again. "He builds stuff, dams, his house… Pretty cool animal actually, the beaver. Very hardworking." She sighed, exasperated.

"You know, you don't talk often, Antoine Bergeron, but when you do, you're a pain in the ass!" He laughed, making her even more angry, but didn't help her up. "Alright! Alright, you win! The beavers are cool animals. Only worth five cents, but cool nonetheless. Help me up, please!"

He helped her standing on her snowshoes again and brushed the back of her coat. He chuckled. "We better get home quick, your coat is all wet, and you'll catch a cold."

"Too late." She sniffed, and looked up at him. It was getting dark already, and a draft of cold wind washed over them, making her shiver. "I hate you." He saw her shiver and hugged her, rubbing her back.

"_Non_, you don't. You love me, and I love you." She smiled against his coat, and hugged him back, enjoying the warmth radiating from him.

"I do." She pulled back, resisting the urge to cuddle back against him when a deep shiver ran up her spine. He reached up and ran a gloved finger on her cold cheek, before pushing away a wet lock from her face.

"Me too." He smiled sadly. "You miss him a lot?"

She looked down, closing her eyes. "Like crazy. I still can't believe he left like that but…" She leaned in his chest, hiding her face in his coat. "I guess he thought he needed to. I'm gonna beat the crap out of him when he gets back, though, for not saying goodbye."

He chuckled sadly, and pulled back. "He'll be back soon, I'm sure. But as for now… Let's go home. I'm cold."

* spiced meat pie

** A kind of stew, cooked in the oven for a few hours, with six layers of dough with four kinds of meat in between: rabbit, deer or moose, duck and partridge. No need to say it's kind of an expensive dish, but very traditional in Québec at Christmas.

*** Not as disgusting as it sounds. Meat ball stew with potatoes, cooked with pork hocks (since it's really greasy, it gives taste to the broth. You don't usually eat the hocks, though).

**__**


	21. Y'look like a friend o'mine

**Haha! Four chappys in 5 minutes. Ain't I great? Hehe. Of course, the fact that chapter 18 is a tiny thing, and that chapters 19 and 20 were already written and posted under another title had NOTHING to do with the update speed. Hehe. But this one is new! Promise! **

_ "Hey papa."_

_"Louis?" His father's voice sounded distant in the public phone, but Louis' heart lightened. He had been gone for two months now, and with Christmas in only two days, he missed his family. But he felt free of obligations, and though he knew he'd have to go back to them one day, he liked to taste the feeling of freedom for now. "Lou, where are'ye callin' from?" _

_"I'm at the __Sarnia__ train station."_

_"__Sarnia__?" _

_Louis smiled. "Yeah, that's in __Ontario__. I just got through the Canadian lines."_

_"Yeah well, __Canada__'s a big place, Lou. Dat doesn't tell me where y'are…"_

_"__Southern Ontario__, papa." He heard Remy snort at the word 'southern' and smiled. "I was in __Detroit__ two hours ago, if that helps yah. And there's supposed to be one of the great lakes somewhere near, __Lake Huron__ I think."_

_"And what are'y doin' dere anyway?" _

_"Takin' the train, headin' for __Toronto__. I got here on bus, and I'm damn tired of it." Silence on the line. "Papa?"_

_"Y'won't be here on Noël, den." _

_Louis closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the public phone. "Papa, I already told you that. And I spoke to mom and she sounded okay with it…"_

_"I know, I know… let y'père have som' hope, Lou. We miss you here."_

_"I miss you guys too."_

_"Den why d'ye stay away?"_

_"Cause it makes me feel better, at least for now." Louis heard his father's sigh at the end of the line._

_"So, y'gonna stay in __Toronto__ for a while?"_

_"Yeah, but not for long… I'm headin' east after Christmas, and I want to be in __Quebec city__ for the winter Carnival." Another snort at the end of the line. _

_"Are'y tellin' me you wanna be in de coldes' place south o'de 50th  parallel durin' de coldes' month o'de year? Y'even crazier dan I thought." Louis laughed._

_"I wonder where I got that from."_

_"Y'mother. She loves snow."_

_"Tell her I love her for me, okay papa?"_

_"Why don't'y tell her herself?"_

_"Cause I have to go, the train's arrived."_

_"Oh, d'accord den… You call soon, won'y?"_

_"Soon, I promise."_

~~~

**_May 15th_**

The heat was hardly bearable. Louis leaned his forehead in his gloved palm, swearing under his breath as he asked himself again what had fallen over his head in his sleep to give him the idea of going in New Orleans dressed up like he had to. He wanted to see his grandfather, of course, who he hadn't seen since he was 3 feet high, but he still could have waited for whatever temperature they had un January. He sat in a small café, a glass of pinkish fruit punch on the table in front of him, and was asking himself if he should wait for the sun to come down before he got out of the shade. He looked up, watching the people walking on the sidewalk on Bourbon street, when his eyes caught someone staring at him from the other side of the street.

The man didn't look away when Louis stared in his eyes, and both men frowned. He was tall, in his forties, with unruly red hair and beard, and from what Louis could see from a distance, pale eyes. Louis raised an eyebrow, asking a silent question, and the man frowned even more, before turning around and disappearing in a backstreet alley. Louis stared at the empty spot where he had stood, and bit his lip, looking down at his drink. Being his father's spitting image, maybe New Orleans hadn't been such a good idea. He dropped some money on the table and got to his feet, determined to find out who that man was.

He crossed the street in a fast pace and walked in the dark alley. He hadn't gone further than the end of a building when a hand grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him in, pinning him hard against the brick wall. He let out a gasp and opened his eyes to stare at the red haired man, pale blue eyes staring into his. "Who de hell are yeh?" the man spat, and Louis felt a gun pressed under his chin. He glared at him.

"You were the one starin', man. I could ask you the same question." The man's eyes narrowed, his gun pressing harder and quite painfully against his larynx, and Louis' hands balled into fists as he drew back his arm, and punched the man hard in the stomach. He doubled up with a startled gasp, taking a step back and his gun falling on the pavement with a clank. Louis took a step forward, grabbing the man's neck and pinning him against the wall. "What d'you want from me?"

"I wanna know who y'are," the man gasped, his hands reaching up to Louis' arm, trying to get free of his strong grip.

Louis narrowed his eyes at him. "What for?"

"Y'look like someone I know. A cousin o'mine. What's y'name?"

"Louis."

Despite the hand around his neck, the other man smiled. "Y'father's name wouldn' be Remy, by chance?" 

***

Louis looked up at the mansion as the gates opened, trying to keep his mouth closed when he realized the house was apparently bigger than the Xmansion itself. It was huge. _This_ was where his father had grown up? Tall trees towered way over the three floors mansion, and the whole grounds seemed to be surrounded by a 15 feet high gate. Louis smirked to himself. This _was_ a house of thieves; it was probably hard, if not impossible, to get through the security devices.

The red haired man who had introduced himself as Émile, his father's cousin, drove up the driveway and to the front door, where he stopped. He led Louis to the wide oak wood door, and pushed it open. "Follow me," he said with a huge grin, heading for a wide hallway, "I'll show yeh t'y'grandpa."

The thieves were obviously in the middle of a meeting when Émile knocked on the double white painted doors, and entered when someone answered. Louis' eyes first settled on the huge mahogany table in the middle of the rooms, where shelves filled with books covered the walls. They then moved to meet curious glances from the men sitting around the table in a surprised silence. He could see the younger ones were simply waiting for explanations about this stranger's presence in the great Thieves mansion, like the young brown haired man at the end of the table, a few feet away from him, who raised an interrogative eyebrow at him. A few others, older ones, sitting near the other end of the table, stared at him in surprise, some with their eyebrows drawing in a frown as they realized who he must be. At the end of the table, getting to his feet, was a pale looking man in his seventies, his salt and pepper hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and his blue eyes wide as he stared at him. Louis swallowed, but Émile smiled at Jean-Luc's reaction. A young man with dark hair, sitting on Louis' left, switched his purplish blue gaze from him to Émile, and frowned. "We been waitin' f'yeh, Lapin. But we didn' know y'were bringin' visit."

Émile's smile widened and he looked up at Jean-Luc. "Louis," he said, glancing at him, "dis be y'grandfather, Jean-Luc." The older man's face broke into a smile at the confirmation, and he nodded at Louis.

"Welcome in y'second home, _fils_."

***

Louis stepped in the room and dropped his bag on the floor, more out of surprise than exhaustion, as he looked around the bedroom the young blonde woman was showing him. The four post bed was in the left corner, away from the huge window on the right wall. Thick dark blue curtains hid the window and she walked to it to pull them away as he took a few steps in, sighing in relief as he realized there was air conditioning in the rooms. She turned and smiled at him. "Y'be comfortable here?"

He chuckled softly, and picked up his bag to drop it on the bed. "I don't think anyone would complain 'bout a room like this."

She laughed, and tucked back a blonde lock behind her ear, her amber eyes slanting in amusement as she walked to him and presented her hand. "Great t'know y'like it. I don' t'ink we been introduced, though. M'name's Isabelle."

Louis smile and took her hand. "And I'm Louis. But you already know that, probably."

She smiled, nodding, and turned to the door. "I gotta go. But if y'need anyt'in', just call. I'll be glad t'help yeh." He nodded to her as she left, and he let his eyes wander through the room again as he heard the door close behind her. His eyes stopped on the white telephone on the desk near the window, and he bit his lip.

After a few moments, he shook his head, and turned to his bag. A phone call, only one, to tell them where he was. But it could wait.

**TBC… soon. Promise!**


	22. Making and leaving friends

**A/N : Well, that's not such a bad update, isn't it? How long has it been, a month? Hey, I'm getting good! Fact is, this story is almost finished (another chapter, maybe two, but I doubt it). But oh, what's this, the beginning of a plot? Well, my friends, this plot is NOT for Sixteen Years, it is for the famous crossover (which is in process *cough*Aimée*cough*scene*cough*weneedittopublish*cough*FOO*cough* of being written. In fact it's almost all written and hidden in MSN message logs [but whoever here has MSN knows how HELL it can be to go through the logs]) BAH. You'll see. Speaking of co-writing, you can go and have a look at this other story foofighta and me have going on, Vagabond. I hope you like it…**

**Here's more Louis!**

**Enjoy!**

_Making and leaving friends_

He sighed. He had been in the Thieves mansion for a week now, mostly spending time with his grandfather, and never calling home. He couldn't. Every time his hand brushed the phone receiver, he pulled back, a lump in his throat. His father wouldn't like the idea of him being here. Remy had never brought his kids here, mostly because he was exiled from New Orleans, and to protect Josée and him from the Assassins' wrath. First thing he would know would be that Louis went down there by himself.

He walked down the stairs, and nodded to a blonde man in his mid twenties as they met in the stairs. He recognized him as Guy, Henri and Mercy's only son, and official heir to the leadership of the guild. Guy didn't like him, obviously, and avoided any conversation with him for a reason Louis didn't know. "Hi, Guy."

Guy looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, and continued his way up the stairs. "Bonjour," he said coldly, and Louis stopped to turn around and glare at Guy's back.

"You're not very talkative, are yeh?" he called.

Guy turned around, shooting him a cold glare. "I don' have t'be with yeh, Louis. Just like y'don' have t'be here at all." Louis raised his eyebrows, still speechless as Guy disappeared behind a corner.

"Charmin'," he hissed between his teeth, and was surprised to hear a chuckle coming from below. He turned and looked down at the bottom of the stairs to meet a wide smile. A young man was standing there, his hazel eyes slanted in amusement under light brown bangs.

"_Oui_, he tends t'be charmin' sometimes. Y'met him on one of'is _good_ days."

Louis smiled at him and walked down the stairs. "I saw you at the meetin'." The other man nodded, still smiling.

"But we haven' been introduced. M'name's François, Franck fo'friends. Y'Louis, right?" He nodded, and Franck's smile grew wider. "We haven' seen yeh 'round a lot. Y'hidin' from somet'in'?"

Louis chuckled. "No, just spendin' some time with my grandfather… I just hadn't had the time to walk around a lot yet."

"Den y'gotta meet de people 'round here. Come on, follow me." Louis smiled and walked behind Franck in a hallway, but slowed down as he noticed the large number of pictures on the walls. He finally came to a stop in front of a large one, and chuckled. A much younger Jean-Luc, maybe in his fifties, was sitting in an armchair, a wide grin of his face, as his two sons stood behind it. Henri looked like he was in his late twenties, and kept a serious look on his face despite his photogenic smile, but Remy couldn't have been more than 16 or 17 at the time the picture was taken, and had a wide devilish grin on his face. "I never met him, but y'look a lot like him on dis picture," said a voice behind his shoulder.

Louis turned his head to look at Franck, and grinned. "I'm more like him than my mother. My sister got everythin' about her." He turned again, following Franck again. "What's with Guy? Is he like that with everyone, or does he keep all this charm for me?"

He laughed. "Not with me, we're practically brothers. But he's pretty much a spoiled brat with ev'ryone." He glanced up at him. "Y'special, though. Competition."

"Me?" Louis laughed. "Competition to what? Leadership of the Guild? That's never gonna happen, Franck. I'm not here to stay, I'm goin' back t'New York."

Franck smiled. "Yeh never know. Maybe yeh'll learn t'like it here. I don' wanna ask what I'm not s'posed to, but y'never saw y'grandpa b'fore?"

Louis smiled. "I saw him a few times, no more, when I was really young. My father never wanted t'bring us here, said it was too dangerous. So Jean-Luc came to New-York, but he stopped comin' a long while ago."

The other man nodded. "Guild war. We've been havin' trouble with de Assassins fo' ten years or so." He shrugged. "We always do."

"You're a thief?"

Franck smiled. "S'hard not t'be, when y'live here. Always been, an' I just got in de council. Here's de rec room," he said in a different tone, stopping in front of a door. "Here we are. Everyone," he added, pushing the door open, "Dis' Louis." They stepped in and Louis smiled, liking the rec room right away. A large, beautiful bar sat in the left corner, dimly lighten and surrounded by wooden stools. There was a dart game on the wall between two large windows covered with dark, heavy curtains to keep the sun from coming in, instead lighting the place with soft halogen spots on the ceiling. On the right lay a beautiful pool table, its green carpet lighten by a ceiling lamp, and surrounded by two leather couches and a comfortable looking armchair. There was already someone sitting in it, though, and Louis smiled at the girl sitting in it. She looked pretty young, with soft dark eyes and thick, rich brown hair cascading down her back. She smiled back, blushing, and Louis looked at the two other persons sitting on the couches. On one of them sat Isabelle, and Louis smiled at the blonde girl before turning his attention to the boy laying on the couch on his right. Dark hair fell in his dark purplish blue eyes, narrowed in amusement as he nodded at Louis, and he grinned back. "Dis' Didier," Franck said, stepping next to him. "I don' know'im, though, he just follows us ev'rywhere." Didier only snorted and threw him a cushion, and Franck caught it with a chuckle. "Non, he really follows me to learn how t'play pool. He keeps t'inkin' dat one day, he'll learn how t'play properly." 

Louis looked back at Didier, and grinned. "That should be interestin'."

Franck chuckled and again and pointed at the brown-haired girl. "Dis' my lil' sister, Emily, an' I t'ink y'already met Isabelle, m'wife."

Louis raised his eyebrows, surprised, and stared at Franck, then at Isabelle. "Wife? How old are you?"

She chuckled, blushing. "20. Franck's 21. S'not dat young, Louis. 'T least not in de guild."

Didier laughed, getting up. "Well I don' know 'bout yeh guys, but I want out. Let's go outside," he grinned at Louis, "An' show 'im what 'New Orleans' exactly means."

***

It felt strange, like he was floating. Flying, over a city, a city he haven't seen in a long while. He wasn't sure why, or where he was going. Neither did he know what pushed him to fly down to the ground, and quickly walk to an abandoned building nearby. He sneaked in, his heart beating faster, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a large purple orb, the size of a minivan, hovering in front of him. It was eerily beautiful, sparks of electricity crackling around it, and he felt drawn to him like metal to a magnet. There were shadows standing by the orb, whispering, but he didn't pay attention, instead taking another step towards it. He reached out, putting his gloved hand in it, and smiled. It tickled. 

He drew back his hand, frowning. What was that?

There was a yell at his left, and he snapped his head to look at what it came from. A shadow was standing there, blonde hair wild around her head. He couldn't see her face, but he took a step back, frowning, and ducked when a blade was swung towards his face. He yelled when the sharp blade cut through his skin, and he stepped back again, getting slowly closer to the orb. The shadow shrieked again, taking a step closer, but with a last glare at her, Louis turned towards the orb, and stepped in. He knew it wouldn't be dangerous when he saw two crimson eyes, staring right back at him.

"_Papa_?"

***

Louis gasped, sitting up. He jumped, looking around at his surroundings, and breathed heavily as he stared at the window. The soft night breeze blew softly through the open window, lifting the curtains. The sounds of the bayou nearby, crickets and frogs singing in the same orchestra, sounds he had grown fond of in the last months, now sounded unnerving. He let out a shaky sigh, crossing his arms against his bare chest.

He frowned, staring at the high posts of his bed. Here, in the dark, they looked like they ended with small heads, his imagination turning the light glow of the moonlight's reflection on the varnished surface into glowing eyes shooting him an accusing glare.

It wasn't the first time he had had this dream. It got clearer every time, though, and if at the beginning it left him more and more confused, he was quickly getting under the impression something was telling him to come back home.

Something was going to happen.

He groaned, falling back against the pillows. He didn't want to leave. He found the whole guild thing interesting, and Jean-Luc and Henri had told him he could stay. He could become a thief. 

He snorted. He had left home to become something else than what his father was, and he was falling exactly in the same trap.

Fact was, he loved this trap. He loved the lazier life of the thieves, who went to bed late and got up even later, who didn't care about a lot of things he didn't care about either. It was a big family, and everyone, aside from Guy, had proven nice and welcoming. He knew that if he wanted to, he could be happy here.

He had made new friends with Franck and Isabelle, who were their smiling, nice selves, and he and Didier were quickly becoming very good friends as well. Emily was sweet, and cooked like a _cordon bleu_, and, aside from spending her days on the grand piano in the den, had the habit of blushing each time their eyes met. He chuckled. Dangerous territory. He didn't want anything to happen, with his mortal skin, and the fact he was going back home…

He sighed, and turned on his side to look out the window again. He really, really didn't want to go. But he had a feeling he had to.

**Review commenting**

**_[Before you read the review commenting, I would like to make some shameless self-promotion and announce the creation of XxFOOdelySxX who, for those who haven't noticed, is an hybrid between myself and brilliant author foofighta. See in my favorite authors!]_**

**ishandahalf :**Hehe, glad you liked the last one, so here some badness for you to glare at me about. And hey, I know Louis' kindof fluff deprived, but I'll manage to fix that someday. This story is almost over, well, not if you consider the crossover coming right after *glares at foofighta who hasn't written the part she was supposed to write SIX MONTHS AGO*, so no problem, never over, and I've fallen head over heels for Louis. So my other fic will wait, 'cause I'm writing some serious hunk here! We're talking about Louuuuueeeee…. *drool* Alright! You get the idea.

**nessie6 :**Well I won't even _bother_ answering that question about Isabelle and Louis, you already got your answer. I'm afraid, my friend, that you won't be getting a lot of fluff with Louis right now. There WILL be, someday, some SERIOUS fluff, but not now, not in this story, and not with that girl. *wink*

**foofighta**** :**** _MY GIRL!_ **Glad you liked it. Hope you like my little hint at the crossover, too, I had to find a way to get Louis back to New York, otherwise he would have stayed in New Orleans and… well. WELL. Okay, I know you can't love Isabelle, and we CAN'T say why here (I feel all those eyes on us, frowning, staring, glaring… *shivers* they want to know, foo! We can't let them _know_!). And Louis' love conquest? *raises an eyebrow* Nah, not in here… Haha, how do you like happy, innocent and angst-free 21 years old Franck? And Yes, you're right, if anybody else than you reads this paragraph, they will have no fuskin' idea what I'm talking about. At least it's shorter than your review. Hehe.

**Kitsu**** Black : **Yay! Another one in love! Double yay!

**RealityDreamer**** :**Very glad you like it. Is that a new name in my reviewers list? *raises an eyebrow* Velcome in my world of original characters!

**Becki**** :**Yes, well, lots of potential, but it's coming to an end. But fear not! For zee foofighta-Fleurdelys crossover is coming to the rescue, with the mighty adventures of zee LeBeau children…

**Remy's ange :** Yes, I, hum… noticed your 'attraction' (now _that's_ an euphemism) to Louis in the 21 reviews you sent me. *grin* Thanks a lot! And no, Louis' not becoming a thief, as you can see by the end of this chapter. He likes it, though, and I think he feels more comfortable in that mansion, than in the other one. So once again, he finds himself in his father's shadow, as you said, only this time it's by choice. And don't worry about me writing about Louis… I'm afraid poor Josée, with her perfect boyfriend and perfect perfectness, is _not_ a good subject to angst, who happens to be my best friend. Oh, Angy, you will _love_ the crossover.


	23. The Fenris Wolf

**A/N: Here it is! Done! This chapter is the end (really) of Sixteen Years, but do not fear, for the crossover is near! Muahaha! I really don't have a lot to say here, aside from the fact that I am really really sorry for the time it took me to write the last chapters, and about the fact that I've put you aside. I was the master of zee updates last June, for those who remember, and I've lost that over the months, but I'll work hard to fix this. Besides, summer is coming again, so I'll be here, fresh and ready to rock, to write some more, and finish _Medieval Times_ and _But it Ain't Home_.**

**Enjoy!**

**_The Fenris Wolf_**

When filled with children and thieves, the kitchen was a live place, loud and homely, the smell of bacon, coffee and toasts filling the air on every morning. It was also very crowded, but the two large oak wood tables and two dozens of chair could seat a lot. Everyone avoided the dinning room at all costs, with its cold atmosphere and empty walls. No, the kitchen was the place to be in the morning.

At least after 10. Thieves lived in the night, and the mansion was still awake far past 2 in the morning. The only ones in bed at midnight were the children, and the rec room, dens and living room still alive until 3 or 4, filled with laughing thieves back from a raid or another. The only times the mansion was quiet was when an important raid was organized, most of the thieves participating and leaving the other inhabitants of the great thieves mansion alone. Either way, until 10 in the morning, the kitchen was empty.

Louis never thought of himself as a morning person. He despised the early Danger Room sessions, hated getting up with the sun with a passion, and liked lying in bed until 8 as the sun slowly came up. But here, in the lazy house of thieves, he found that he was the first up at 8 in the morning. Happy to see he could sleep late, he had tried staying up late and getting up late as well. He found no trouble at staying up late, chatting with everyone, but found himself restless and turning in his bed at 7 every morning, unable to sleep more.

That left him with a good two hours of peace. Sitting in the kitchen at one of the great tables, taking advantage of his solitude to take off his gloves and pull up his sleeves to get the morning breeze coming from the windows, he leaned on the smooth surface of the table, crossing his arms and resting his forearms on the table, and stared out of the patio door, his cup of coffee steaming in front of him, and the smell of his toasts coming to him from behind the counter, where the toaster oven baked a few slices of French bread. He smiled. The kitchen was a live, homely place to be past 10. But here, at 8, it was a damn great place to be to be alone.

He sighed happily and lifted his cup to his lips, staring at his hands. Aside from the heat, which was slowly driving him nuts with the summer coming up soon, he merely even noticed his powers anymore. Message had been spread through the mansion about them and no one asked about his gloves, pants and long sleeves anymore. No one even stared. The only one who had asked was Emily, and he answered her questions with a smile. "Of course it sucks dat y'can't touch," she had said with a sad smile, raising a delicate eyebrow, "but I find it fascinatin'. Bein' a normal human's borin' after hearin' 'bout all dose powers mutants have."

He chuckled sadly, setting his cup back on the table. If only everyone thought that way, life would be pretty less complicated. No war for Magneto, no Friends of Humanity, no villains. Just a simple, peaceful life like the one he lived here with the thieves.

He heard some noise behind him and turned, surprised to see someone up that early. He grinned up at Franck, who smiled softly back, his eyes sleepy, and rubbed a hand over his face as he steered directly towards the coffee pot. "M'not a mornin' person," he said in a voice still hoarse with sleep.

Louis chuckled. "What are y'doin' up, then?"

Franck glanced at him, opening a cupboard door and pulling out a porcelain cup. He poured some coffee in it, and made his way to the table, sitting in front of Louis. "I don' know," he said, and chuckled. "I didn' sleep well, I guess. I'm always up b'fore de others, but never dat early. What time is it?"

Louis glanced at the old, large clock on the wall behind Franck. "8:15. And I didn't sleep well either." He sighed. "Strange dreams."

"It was dead hot last night, an' de crickets were particularly annoyin'," Franck said with a grin, lifting his cup to his lips. "Mmm, dat's _good_. I needed dat."

Louis chuckled, and looked down at his empty plate. "I might leave soon."

"Really?"

He looked up again, giving Franck a small smile. "Sounds stupid, but I have a strange feelin'. I'd feel better goin' back home, if somethin' happens."

Franck raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips turning up. "Yeh've been sayin' dis for five months, Lou."

He laughed, leaning back in his chair. "If only to get rid of Guy… How come he never bothers _you_?"

Franck grinned. "Secret. No, well, Henri and Mercy took me an' Emily when m'parents died, long time ago. I was five, and Emily was no more dan a baby." He shrugged, chuckling. "So dey're practically m'parents, an' I guess Guy considers me as somet'in' like a brother. As close as it gets, at least."

Louis nodded, understanding. "And how did you meet Isabelle? You guys are _always_ together."

He smiled softly. "She was m'best friend since de start. Den we started datin' when we were older, and got married two years ago. It seemed like de right t'in' to do, an' de guild likes it when weddin's stay in the guild. We don' like strangers much."

Louis smiled. "That's cute."

Franck chuckled. "Yeah, t'is," he said softly, staring down at his cup. His smile widened after a few moments, and he looked up at him. "When would yeh leave?"

His smile faded, and he reached for his gloves. "Soon. A few days, at most."

Franck raised his eyebrows. "Really? Y'family knows y'comin' back?"

Louis sighed. "I haven't called home in over a month, and they don't even know where I am… No, I guess it'll be a surprise."

On his last day in the mansion, he wanted to spend time with his friends. Of course, he knew he could come back anytime. They would always be here, part of the guild, and as welcoming as they had been six months before. They were sitting in the grass under the big tree at the end of the grounds, near the bayou. They always sat here, in the shade, to chat and laugh, and as Louis leaned back against the trunk, he realized how much he would miss it.

The thought of staying, for good, crossed his mind again. He sighed, looking around. Life with the Xmen was great. They were his family, his friends, and the people he had been living with since his birth.

But something was missing.

An itching feeling in his chest reminded him that something was going to happen. What, he had no idea. But if his family was in danger, he wanted to be there to help.

He smiled, listening to Didier, Emily, Isabelle and Franck's voices.

"Dere can' be _that_ much mythical animals. How t'ick is dat book, anyway?"

Isabelle laughed. "Almost a thousand… Did, dere's hundreds o'mythical animals, depends on de culture y'in. I'm sure I can find yeh in dat book," she ended with a smile, presenting the book she had just gotten the day before. She was sitting with Franck a few feet away, between his outstretched legs, and leaning against his chest as she opened the book in her lap and narrowed her eyes at what was probably the table of contents.

A snort from Didier, who was leaning on the trunk next to Louis. "Alright. Find me. I'm curious."

Franck chuckled, pointing a page on the book. "Right dere. Found yeh. De Djun is a giant lizard livin' in de swamps an' rivers," he read out loud, a smirk on his lips. "He only comes out at night, t'capture his preys with his tongue o'his tail."

Didier snorted, and Emily laughed. "Dat's a pretty good description."

"Pah, never said it was handsome… I'm not a snake. Where does dis animal come from?"

"It's an African legend… oh look, dis one's fun," Isabelle said, narrowing her eyes at the page. "De Dajoji is a giant, flyin' puma livin' in de West, for de Iroquois people. He comes in de world o'de men in times o'war, an' fights on both sides, killin' dem with thunder an' lightin'." She grinned and looked up. "Dat could be yeh, Louis."

He chuckled. "You don't see me fightin' on _both_ sides, that'd be backstabbin' to me."

Franck laughed. "True. An' y'not a puma, too, y'too loud."

Louis snorted, narrowing his eyes. "You wanna repeat that?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Not really." He leaned in, resting his chin on Isabelle's shoulder as he looked at the book. She smiled at him and glanced back at the book, quickly flipping the pages. "Y'lookin' fo' somet'in'?"

She nodded. "I saw it yesterday… Ah, dere. Y'not a puma, Louis, y'a wolf." She flipped the book, raising it to show him the picture. A big orange wolf was drawn on what looked like a very old drawing. It had a huge tail and sharp teeth, and looked more like a puma, actually, or a fox with a cat's tail, than a wolf.

He smiled, leaning back against the trunk. "And why am I a wolf? An orange wolf, no less?"

She smiled and turned the book back to look at it. "It's de Fenris wolf, one o'Loki's children in de old Norse religion. It was a wolf so big an' strong dey had t'tie'im up, an' de only tie dey found dat could stop'im was a leash made o'silk," she read, the corners of her lips turning up. "De silk was made by dwarves with de sound a cat makes when it moves, a woman's beard, de roots of a moutain, de dreams of a bear, de breath of a fish an' de spittle of a bird. He could break de biggest chains, but he could never get rid o'de most unique, strange, an' solid silk leash ever made." She smiled up at him. "Wonder what kind o'leash is gonna make yeh stay put."

He laughed. "Certainly not silk."

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeh'd be surprised." She glanced back down, and nodded. "Yup, dat fits yeh. Yeh Fenris."

Didier laughed, poking Louis in the ribs. "Y'said y'were lookin' fo' a code name? Y'got one. Y'de orange wolf who got caught with a silk leash made with a woman's beard, made by dwarves."

Louis laughed again. "Fenris is a very strange code name."

Emily's eyebrows raised. "Does it have t'be anyt'in' else? Y'said y'wanted somet'in' special." She smiled at him, her cheeks getting redder. "It doesn' get any more special dan dat."

He smiled back. "No, I guess not."

"At least y'not livin' in swamps, catchin' y'prey with y'tongue," Didier chuckled.

"And your tail," Louis added.

Emily chuckled and Isabelle laughed, closing the book, and Franck smiled at Louis. "Dis' y'last night here, we should all go out somewhere."

"Well the plane leaves early tomorrow mornin'," he started hesitantly, but smiled as they all raised an eyebrow at him, "but I wouldn't miss that."

Yes, the kitchen was a peaceful place to be in the morning. Louis' throat tightened as he dropped his plate in the sink, and turned around to look around the place that had been his second home for the last months. They had gotten back from their night out very late, but Louis was still up early, getting ready to leave. He had promised his friends he would come back to visit soon, and he was hoping he would be able to leave without saying goodbye this morning. It had already been hard enough, he didn't need the tears Isabelle had threatened to spill last night.

He silently made his way out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door, where his bag already waited for him. He bent down to pick it up and put his hand on the handle when a voice came from behind him. "I would've t'ought yeh'd say goodbye, at least."

He turned around and smiled sadly at her. "Didn't wanna see those tears of yours."

Isabelle smiled softly. "I got used t'havin' you here. Yeh one of my friends, now, m'gonna miss yeh." Her voice broke on the last words as she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. "Yeh be happy, Louis, okay?" she asked in a muffled voice. "I know y'can be. Yeh jus' gotta let y'self be."

He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'll try."

"Tryin's not good. I want a promise," she whispered, pulling back and raising her amber eyes to look up at him. "Y'one o'de best friends I've had in a long time, Lou. We're all gonna miss yeh."

He smiled, taking a step back. "And you have t'be happy too," he said softly.

She gave him a shaky smile. "Dat shouldn' be so hard. I'm a lucky girl."

He laughed softly. "An' Franck's a lucky guy. Goodbye, Isabelle."

"Au revoir, Louis Fenris LeBeau," she said in a soft voice. He smiled at her and she smiled back, looking down seconds before he turned away and opened the door, walking to the car waiting in front of the door.

**Well, friends, this is officially the end of Sixteen Years. I know it ends… well, BAD, but just leave your email in the reviews if you want to be noticed when the first crossover chapter will be out, thus following Louis again in this bad feeling he has about what's going on in New York.. haha! Of course, another good way of knowing if putting XxFOOdelySxX in your author alert list. (see here =MsoNormal>**

**Review commenting :**

Reality Dreamer : Another new name (unless my memory is playing tricks on me). Glad I'm feeding your insanity, that was really a sweet compliment. Hope to see you in the crossover!

Jenna : Hmmm, well, no, that won't happen (but you've already noticed that). Emily has a thing for Louis, of course, but that's a 16 year old crush for a 21 year old god. Hehe.

Browneyedimagination : Wow, nice name. Haven't seen it before, but thanks for the review anyway! Glad you liked the story, and I hope I'll see you in the crossover's list of reviews…

JesterGod : Well I certainly hope it was a déjà-vu, 'cause I pretty much picked it all from my own head… Welcome to zee new readers, only this story is over. Check out XxFOOdelySxX for the foofighta-fleurdelys crossover, that should be coming up soon (as soon as foo writes her darn scene, which she still hasn't. And if you all harrass her with it, I'm sure she might actually move her butt and write it!)

Remy's Ange : My poor girl. I'm sending this to you through email, because Fanfiction.net, the _evilest thing on Earth_, has wiped you out of this world, and it SUCKS. I'm so angry! Not only has it also erased your reviews in my stories, too (you had 22 in this story!! TWENTY-TWO!!), but it has also erased the reviews I had written for you!!! All of them! Dammit. And those reviews for CommitmentPhobia were the best ones I've ever written. Anyway, I'd understand if you didn't review this, since FF.N is being a real bunch of assholes to you, but I sent it anyway, because I know how much you love Louis, and you're one of my favorites. Honest. I hope to hear from you! You know how to contact me. FF.N is evil! The DEVIL I say!

kitsu black : Well I can't tell you what's going on up north, cause that would be like giving the plot of the crossover away. So you'll have to check it out to know :P Thanks for reading!

Nightbug : Well thank you! Hope to hear from you in the crossover (if foo writes her scene… I wonder if she gets the idea, she usually reads all the comments…)

Ishandahalf : Ah well, you know me. Yes he is leaving, and yes, I'm leaving you to die with the stress of not knowing what will happen until Foo gets on her computer and writes something productive (ladida… get the idea, honey? Write!). So yeah, he's going back to New York, where angst, action, and unbelievable things will happen to poor Louis and his family. Yay!

Zee Almighty Sleeping Foo : Haha! See? You were the first to review, and I'm keeping you for the end… Now, I'm waiting for you on Yahoo right now (see I tried waking you up, but you won't come, so I ended up writing this chapter. lol). Now, I know you don't like Isabelle, but I did my best to make her the sweetest thing in this chapter. And look! She even helped Louis find a codename! Fenris! Yay! Alright, I'm all done now! Wack! Wack! Wake up! (people must think I'm crazy).


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